Warriors: A Reign of Thunder and Lightning
by TytoNoctua
Summary: Their once-thriving urban home in ruins by the hands of warring Twolegs, their borders threatened by the neighboring clan of wildcats, their numbers dwindle to attacks and burning territory. And now StarClan has withdrawn their presence for reasons beyond them. But for Littlescent, there's still a way to save everyone before it all falls apart. Full length, AU Warriors fanfiction.
1. --

_12:45 PST, 11.12.16_

 _There is no 'Allegiances' page like in the canon books, so you aren't missing that._

 _This story has already been finished, written, and edited off of this site to ensure that it could never be too far delayed, cancelled, or have its plot distorted. The story has been spellchecked to the best of my abilities, but it is inevitable that errors will be found. Please report any seen immediately._

 _If others cannot see the story from a search, it is because of the 'mature' tag it the search function, by default, filters those stories so that they are not displayed in the results. Ensure the filter is off._

 _Most importantly enjoy the story. There was no higher purpose for it; it's just entertainment all the way through._

 _\- Tyta_


	2. Fire-Fallers

There was no whistle in the air, the ground did not shake, and there was not a cat in sight. The area, which once saw activity from monsters, was now infested by mere rats, scurrying between the cracks and fallen pieces of the nests that once housed hundreds of Twolegs.

Two cats walked along a rough and hot thunderpath, the brown stones smoothed by pulverized remains of nearby structures. They looked in all directions, evaluating the damage that had been done in the latest attack. The reek of smoke from the fires above filled the air as the cats carefully walked over the debris-littered path.

"Bah, fur-brained Twolegs" spat an elderly grey cat, a blue tinge in her fur catching the light. "They keep this up and they'll take every one of their cozy little nests down. And us along with them."

"It's been getting worse now, Panzer. So much of this place lost in such little time" said a small tortoiseshell she-cat.

"Place's proper name's _hamburg_ by the way," Panzer said. "They've been hitting since you were a kit! Waste of my time. We all know it'll happen eventually. You're dead, I'm dead, we'll all be dead from this."

"It's Littlescent" she corrected. "And, forgive me, but you don't have to sound so… you about it."

"I know your name, runt. And I'll sound however I want about it. Already bad enough I never get to leave that Twoleg cat trap Longstar moved us into. And then, when I do get to leave, it's _without_ my apprentice. Always get some claw-swinging Star-eyed warrior who doesn't know what to look for."

Littlescent let the superior cat's remarks go, as usual. She just wanted to focus on the task of finding her the materials she needed and leaving.

"Even forgot to take my carrying pouches. Almost about as fur-brained as those Twolegs."

Littlescent glanced at Panzer as she looked towards the structures once more.

 _I really hate how accurate she is on that,_ she thought to herself. _Everything here is completely gone. Burning, collapsed, or something else… even the Twolegs are gone. It's unusual to see an area_ completely _abandoned._

A loud screech was heard nearby, at the intersection. More cries came quickly after the first, and it was followed by silence.

"Great," Panzer said. "My time outside just gets better and better."

Littlescent rushed towards the end of the path in time to see two large cats running into another destroyed structure, one clenched a rat in its massive jaws.

"Run like sparrows! It's all your warriors are good for these days" hissed a grey and black tom towards the fleeing cats. One of the fleeing cats turned around and let out a high pitched cry back at him before turning away out of sight. The tabby turned towards Littlescent and Panzer and his expression softened.

"They won't even fight a kittypet anymore. What's gotten into those cats?"

"So what exactly happened, grunt?" Panzer said.

"Those two wildcats just ran past the border and took a rat. I tried to catch them, but they were fast. That's the third time this moon we have caught them breaking the Pact."

"That's an awfully stupid plan for a warrior, chasing what he can't kill. You catch them, then what? You get killed in a fight? The small wildcats are still _twice_ your height."

"I couldn't have known Littlescent was with you," the warrior responded. "I would have chased them beyond the borders—"

"You can't use not sensing Littlesmell as an excuse forever," Panzer spat. "Excuses and plans like that are going to get you killed one of these days. At least have your little runt with you if you're going to be _that_ stupid. Where is the little thing anyway?"

"Panzer, please. It's _Shortpaw._ " a small brown she-cat said from behind a piece of rubble.

"Rightfully," Panzer mumbled.

Her ears dropped at the medicine cat's remark. "And Wolfgang told me to stay here and guard the stuff we found."

"What's that, you found stuff? Finally."

Shortpaw pushed a small roll of white wraps from behind him. It rolled around before falling over into the dust, its soft exterior hardly making a sound as it did.

"Fake-fur wraps. A warrior that knows what to look for, unlike the ones I keep getting to help me. I'll ask Longstar if I can have the little runt with me next time. Now let's go. Sooner we get away from the borders the better. I hate the look those leaf cats give me."

Panzer took the roll in her teeth and turned away from the others, running the direction she and Littlescent came from.

"You shouldn't run off on your own like that," said Wolfgang, and he and Shortpaw took off after her. Littlescent looked towards the place where the wildcats had retreated to before turning to following the others.

 _It's strange,_ she thought _. LeafClan warriors running from a fight; I know that plenty of warriors from that clan would jump at the chance to fight a former pet…_


	3. Chapter 2

Littlescent, Panzer, and Wolfgang walked up the steps to the second floor of the camp. The hollowed remains of a once-large structure had made it spacious; perfect for her clanmates to move around in. she could hear several cats speaking on the upper floor, where all the original Twoleg dens were still intact.

Below her, Littlescent could observe her clanmates. She watched as two cats dragged in another Twoleg weapon through the back entrance. It was long; a Twoleg would have to hold it with both of his spidery paws. On the end rested a long, silver-colored point. She knew the shining material all too well.

She shook her head. _More thundersticks? Come on, Sharptooth, don't we ever have enough?_

Another pair of cats followed behind them, pushing through the crowd of cats moving in the massive lower area of camp. They held fresh mice in their jaws.

 _I hope this meeting ends quickly. I should stop by the medicine den before I'm told to rest._

The group walked up the last step and onto the second floor. The sight of their clanmates below gave way to a long hallway with smaller entrances to dens branching off from it; at the end a large piece of wood partly covered an entrance. The cats started to walk down towards the end of the dark hall, a soft and scratchy padding covering the floor below them.

"Why can't they get this thing out of here?" Panzer cried. "The thing's itch is _almost_ worse than fleas."

"We can't move it; it's too heavy" Littlescent said. "Sharptooth says it also makes moving the stones up here easier."

Panzer shook her head. "Warriors who can't find good stuff, warriors who can't move a giant patch of fur, warriors with brains _made_ of fur. What happened to the mighty StoneClan warriors after the Pact?"

"It was peace time, they spent energy on smarter tasks," said Wolfgang.

"Please," she spat back. "You're one to talk about brainpower. Anyway how would you know, grunt. You haven't been alive as long as some of us. I was here since the beginning and in the beginning, our warriors were tough. Our warriors were ready to fight for our small clan at a moment's notice, with brains of course."

"Must you taunt the warriors _every_ day, Panzer?"

To Wolfgang's relief, a grey and black tabby stepped out of the room at the end of the hall. "Come in, we have to discuss some changes."

He pushed open the wood that covered the rest of the entrance and motioned them in. Immediately, they were hit with the warm breeze that flowed through a massive hole on the opposite wall. Littlescent took a deep breath, relived at one of the few places the slight tinge of ash had not perpetrated.

The group walked into a room filled with many Twoleg objects of different sizes. Some were on the floor, and others were still where they should be, on the left side of the room. The cats gathered around the clean center of the den.

"Actually," the grey and black tom said, "before we begin, can you please go get Heavyclaw and Sharptooth?"

"Of course, Longstar." Wolfgang stood and left the room, running down the hall. Longstar turned away from Littlescnet and Panzer and looked out the large hole on the back wall, overlooking the massive front clearing and the thunderpath alongside the camp.

"Might as well ask this now before the meeting starts," said Longstar. "Does anyone have anything personal they'd like to ask me? Panzer, maybe?"

"Yeah I've got a question for you," she said. "Can I have the little runt with me on my next leave? She knows how to find some good stuff. Gets hard to work out there when I'm the only one working, you know?"

Longstar shook his head. "I assume you mean Shortpaw, and the answer is no. With both the Twoleg attacks from the sky and LeafClan activity in our Upper Territories on the rise again, I need you guarded by our best. Other warriors just can't hide you like Littlescent can; two cats with the scent of one is an advantage I can't afford to sacrifice for personal preference."

"It was worth a shot," she said, carefully combing bits of her fur with extended claws. "Inclined to listen to you. Those leaf cats look at me funny. Only a matter of time before they decide to... act on whatever goes on in those fuzz-brains of theirs. Hope they just strike to kill."

"And they just might, one day. That's one of the reasons I'm calling this meeting." He turned back towards the entrance as Wolfgang padded in with a bulky, grey-brown tom and a large brown and white tabby following him. Heavyclaw and Sharptooth sat beside Longstar.

Panzer shook her fur. "Heavyclaw, stop bringing stray savages back with you! They bring fleas."

"I was expecting a 'hello-you-dirt-brained-wildcat'" Sharptooth responded. "I take it that your patrol went good?"

"Went good? I'm just glad it happened at all. Can't stand to sit around this Twoleg monster nest forever, I don't care how 'safe' it's _supposed_ to be. _Hamburg's_ a big Twolegplace. I want to see more of it, like I used to."

"Yes, Panzer. This Twolegplace _is_ quite large," began Longstar. "That's why there's going to be some more changes. Might as well start with you and your apprentice. First off, you will no longer be leaving the den to search for your 'stuff'. Fleetheart will take your place on patrols, and we'll increase the size of her escort to cover more ground."

" _What_?" Panzer cried as she leaned her head in at the shock of the clan leader's statement. "Leaving this trap is the only way I stay sane. Do you want me to become some _nutzlos_ elder? Or do you just like to torment me?"

Longstar looked towards her. "You know I don't want to do this. But considering your age, you should be an elder already. You've been a medicine cat for so long none of us know a quarter of what that 'stuff' you have even does; no one can replace your methods right now. And the last thing we need is for you to die before you've finished training your apprentice. The clan would be lost if war were to break out and we _lose_ most of our medical knowledge at the same time."

Panzer began lightly clawing at the floor. "Come on, I finished training Fleetheart _moons_ ago. The only reason she doesn't take my spot is because I'd rather be out there getting hissed at occasionally than in some den being groomed all day."

"I'm sorry," Longstar continued. "But Sharptooth and I thought about this decision for a while. You had no problem with these rules when we were at war with LeafClan before."

"Yeah, but I was a slightly younger little fuzzball then, full of energy and stupidity. Now I'm a frail old cat who wants nothing more than to keep up the energy without my brain shrinking to the size of a flea. Do you want me to end up like the other warriors in this clan?" The three warriors resentfully glared at Panzer, but she ignored them.

Longstar stamped his paw on the floor. "The decision has been made. You're too valuable to risk. I'll discuss it further with you after the meeting if you like."

"Sure, sure. I got it." Panzer retracted her claws, rolling briefly onto her side. "One of the last joys in my life that I haven't out-lived, gone."

"If that's all on that, we'll move on to the subject of LeafClan." Longstar straightened up and looked at each of the cats sitting around the center. Aside from Panzer, the cats were looking out the hole in the wall. He knew they were just as concerned about them as he was.

"According to Sharptooth, you all should have something to report. It's been a while since we had the opportunity to gather like this, so I want to hear everything you have to say about them. Wolfgang, why don't you start?"

Wolfgang sat up to address the room. "For the past few sunrises, Shortpaw and I have run into more and more LeafClan patrols. Sometimes they just sit at the border and hiss, other times I've caught them across the border; they would either be chasing mice or scouting the inside of the Twoleg nests.

"I've almost considered asking Sharptooth if I could suspend my apprentice's training for a while but, thinking about it now, it might do more harm than good. I don't think LeafClan is backing off anytime soon, and I don't want her to be unprepared for whatever happens."

"I think it's too early to assume that LeafClan will start another war," announced Heavyclaw. "Wolfstar would never allow it, not with how the area is now. He would be much more concerned with his clan's well-being."

"Do we even know if that fox-faced old badger is still alive?" said Panzer as she looked out the hole in the wall. "We haven't heard directly from him in moons, just that Eagleclaw deputy."

"Most likely, he's been resenting our most recent move," said Longstar. "Our camp is literally right next to the thunderpath border. We can always see it just outside."

"Would he really break it that easily?" Littlescent added. "He has to know why we've been moving around so much."

Panzer snorted. "Please, Littlestuff. Wolfstar never had any regard for it. He agreed to it to keep his warriors from getting killed, and it took forever just to get him to agree to _that_. He's stubborn, just like the rest of his clan, and it will take more than a few sky-monsters to get through that thick pelt of his."

"Yes, Little _scent,_ " Longstar said as he glanced at Panzer. "He knows why we've been forced to move. We just need to help him see it as nothing to be concerned about.

"I want to pawle this in a way that will not lead to any conflict. Tensions are already high and, as Wolfgang said, he's not backing off anytime soon. I would like to keep our relation where it's at now if I can. I want him to know that we're still willing to talk things out, so the first thing to do is to send a party to the border and inform him another emergency clan meeting will take place at moonhigh.

"The last major sky-monster attack just happened just one moon ago. Had we not moved, we would have all joined StarClan. The attacks are getting worse and worse, and I bet he'll have a few choice words for us on why our camp is so close to his clan's territory. Even if he just shows up at the opportunity to try and badger us out of our own territory, I'll take it."

The cats spoke amongst themselves briefly, all but Littlescent. She was too busy thinking about what Longstar was thinking about the wilcats. About what could happen if they really did not back off from the disputes.

"My next decision, effective by tomorrow's sunrise," continued Longstar, "we will no longer do the bulk of our patrols in the sunlight and will return to normal moonlight activities. Now that most of the sky-monster raids come by night instead of the day, I want the warrior patrols to be prepared to evacuate the camp again, if necessary. I do not want what happened a moon ago to happen again."

The cats looked around uncomfortably as they absorbed that grim reminder of how sudden the attacks came, and just how dangerous they were.

"I guess this is good and bad," Panzer started. "The good is that I don't have to walk around during the day like some stray dog. The bad is that it gives those leaf cats a break from all the sunhigh patrols; anything that helps that fox Wolfstar is bad."

"We don't want bad Panzer," Heavyclaw responded. "We want them to think that we're trying to keep things right."

"No, Fatclaw, he wants us to _actually_ keep things right. Doesn't anything get through that—"

"Our _next_ course of action," Longstar interrupted, "is to look to BreezeClan for an ally. They have migrated closer to the border and, in our last clan meeting, seemed just as concerned about LeafClan as we are."

"They won't fight with us should we go to war," stated Wolfgang. "Or for us. But your goal is probably to use them to get closer to LeafClan since they negotiated the Pact in the first place."

"Actually, I hope they have been able to communicate with StarClan." Longstar paused after that statement, really thinking about what he said.

"That's good that you still have faith in StarClan, Longstar," responded Sharptooth. "But the _main_ reason we need them at the moment is to help us talk things out with LeafClan."

"Please, Bigtooth. Have you lost your faith in StarClan already? I mean it's only been a few seasons or so since they last spoke to us."

"It's been since I was a kit," he responded. "I'm a senior warrior now, and they have said nothing."

Panzer shook her fur. "Well who cares about the time. Just don't you lose faith now. That's gotten many cats killed over the moons. Don't go off and add to those numbers."

"Why, that's the most pleasant thing you've said the past few days," Sharptooth said.

"Before that goes anywhere off topic again," Longstar quickly interrupted. "I know we need them to help communicate with LeafClan, but it bothers me that StarClan hasn't contacted anyone for so long, and just knowing they're still watching over us would put some of the clan's fears at ease. BreezeClan is the closest to StarClan out of any of us, and if anyone would receive a sign, it would be them."

Littlescent took those words to thought.

 _I wonder what they know about StarClan not speaking to anyone. Most of the warriors in our clan have never even_ heard _about messages from the Stars, including me. I'm surprised they even have faith in them. And even if StarClan knows nothing about what's happening with LeafClan, it would still be nice to just hear from them._

"Longstar," she said. "Can I accompany this group to the Gathering?"

The cats in the den froze, as if her statement astonished them. All eyes were quickly off Longstar and onto the young warrior.

Panzer even stopped grooming herself and looked towards the young warrior. "Well that certainly is a surprise. Most claw-swingers eight season's age would've been to several Gatherings. But you always volunteer for camp duties and patrols when we ask. Yet here you are, finally asking to go on another meeting."

"Of course you can come along," Longstar replied. "But I also have another task for you. With the threats we have been getting from LeafClan, border patrols have become dangerous. I can't imagine what would happen if they turned into skirmishes. And the last thing we want is to fight, because there would be no coming back from that. They already resent our presence as it is.

"Because you are nearly impossible to scent, I want you to carry out border patrols, alone. I am certain there are wildcats moving beyond their borders into our Upper Territories. Sending regular patrols there could lead to skirmishes. So all you have to do is watch their movements, and report to me. For now that's all I'll ask you to do. That is, if you'll do it. I have no idea how they would respond to seeing a small, lone cat near their territory."

Littlescent paused briefly, thinking to herself. _To help the clan like_ this _… it's practically an honor to receive such a special assignment. Especially since things aren't going well between us and LeafClan. Maybe I can even get some answers to StarClan's whereabouts. It would be difficult, but I'll never get another chance like this to search on my own. Hopefully it will lead to more important special assignments._

"I'll do it," she responded. The rest of the cats stayed silent, as they revered her decision to risk herself for information. All except Panzer who seemed completely disinterested.

"Are we done yet?" she said. "I've got to make sure my apprentice isn't dead yet."

"Almost. Just a few quick things." Longstar stretched his back and looked across the rest of the group.

"No cat will leave the camp alone. We will also be increasing the number of cats in a standard patrol, from two to four. Covering less ground is acceptable so long as we cover the right ground. No one should be entering the Lower Territories and our previous camp except for patrols that Sharptooth organizes himself. These patrols will still have just two cats.

"Littlescent should be the only cat moving alone, and I will be assigning her duties personally. Please relay all the information from this meeting to the rest of the clan. Sharptooth, send some cats up with the new thundersticks they found. That's all."

"Right away," he responded as he quickly left the room. The rest of the cats stood and stretched their legs, taking in the pleasant breeze that had flown through the hole in the wall, leaving the room one by one.

"Littlescent," Longstar said before she left the room. "I want to talk to you for a second."

Littlescent pushed the entrance almost shut and walked back towards Longstar; she knew that he was going to call her back.

Longstar stood to stretch his legs as well, and sat back down next to the hole in the wall. He motioned her to sit next to him with his tail, and let out a large yawn as she sat down.

"My energy isn't what it used to be," he said. "I don't know how Panzer does it sometimes."

"Come on," Littlestar said. "You're not nearly as old as Panzer."

"True," he responded, "but I'm also not young. The war made my body older than it should be. Even before she died of her injuries, Bonbon herself said she would come down from StarClan and scold the next leader who came in with as many injuries as she had. I take the sign that she has not done so as a warning… anyway, I wanted to ask you a few questions."

Littlescent shook her head. "Look, if this is about my mother, I'm fine about it. It's natural for nursing cats to single out small kits—"

"I know," Longstar said. "I know we've already talked about this, but these questions have to do with your new assignments."

"Oh," Littlescent said, yawning to take in the warm breeze. "Okay then. What did you want to know?"

Longstar stretched his forepaws. "Panzer said she found a new scar on your tail, hidden by your fur. Where did it come from?"

"I remember that one," Littlescent said. "After Panzer took me from my mother, my tail slid across the ground as she was running away from her. Even as a kit, my tail was pretty long."

"And it would not impair the mission?" Longstar asked. "The scars do not make you easier to detect in any way, right?"

"It doesn't seem like it," Littlescent said. "I've been sneaking up on cats since I was an apprentice."

Longstar nodded his head, and looked out the hole towards the thunderpath, serving as the border between the clans. He waited, briefly combed over his paw, and turned back towards Littlescent.

"How often do you groom yourself?" he asked. "To keep yourself cool?"

Littlescent thought about the question for a while. "I think the others know this by now, but not as often as the others. My mouth is always too dry to comb through my fur. And my claws don't do any good because my fur's too short. So I've gotten used to others doing it."

Longstar's tail twitched against the wind, brushing Littlescent occasionally.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he said. "I know it can be dangerous for you alone out there. And a wildcat is literally double your size. They've told me at other Gatherings how uncomfortable your presence makes them. I just don't want to see you getting hurt because of my mistakes."

"You wouldn't have made a mistake," Littlescent said. "I _really_ want to help StoneClan in any way I can. It can't hurt to know more about what we're up against."

"I hope," Longstar said, "that we don't have to go 'against' anything. And I'm sorry for pushing you away from Gatherings when you were younger. It only took one for the wildcats to question your lack of scent. So I guess it's my fault for encouraging you to help the clan elsewhere. But, as a senior warrior, I should let you do more… thank you for agreeing to this."

Littlescent nodded her head. "Anything to help the clan."

Longstar stood, stretching his forepaws once more before moving towards the center of the den.

He waved for her attention with his tail. "Meet us outside by the back entrance close to moonhigh. And pray to StarClan that Wolfstar shows up this time."

Littlescent made her way out of the room. Longstar moved over and opened the entrance up the rest of the way. She stepped aside for the two cats dragging in a large thunderstitck. The sharp, fake-claw at the front of it gleamed bright silver in the sunlight. The rest of the dark, black material was smooth and heavy. She cringed a little and quickly made her way down the hall.

 _The thought of holding the same power as the Twolegs is frightening,_ she thought, trying to shake her thoughts of the Twoleg's use of it. _I don't even want to know how Bonbon came to terms with using them against the wildcats during the war. For everyone's sake, I hope Sharptooth is just paranoid._

Littlescent stopped at the steps at the end of the hall and watched another group of three working a smaller thunderstick up the steps. It clattered and clicked with each step. The cats moved past her and made their way up the second set of steps leading to the top level of camp. She flinched with every tap against the hard group, as if it would go off right there.

 _I bet Longstar hates them just as much as I do._


	4. Chapter 3

Littlescent walked through the doorway into the medicine den. She was glad to see just two cats in the den this time. One was asleep in the corner with a white patch of Twoleg fake-fur on his back, held in place with wraps. Another was sitting on the hard floor with a small container next to her, her front-left paw extended from her body with a cut running along its length. Two cats entered from the opening in the back of the den; Panzer and Fleetheart walked over to the she-cat lying on the floor.

"Fleetheart, you do this one. I need to go be with that she-evil queen. She just had her kits. Clawed at me a few times. Lucky those kits are always around."

"Is this going to hurt?" asked the she-cat on the floor.

"I could always throw you over to the other clan's medicine cats. They'll cover it in cobwebs and say it's all better. You'll die, but at least you didn't _hurt,_ right? Unbelievable." She turned back towards the door and spotted Littlescent by the entrance.

"Get hurt, get out, or do what you came to do, Littlebrain." She began muttering to herself as she left the room.

"Don't mind her," stated Fleetheart. "She told me about not being able to leave camp anymore. Defiantly not fun. She also told me I'll be taking her spot at the Gathering tonight, so it looks like we'll be in our first meeting together! Well, except the time we both went and we were apprentices. But that doesn't really count. Exciting isn't it?"

"So, Panzer wasn't quite clear. How bad will this hurt?" the she-cat asked again.

"When I saw her do this last time on Heavyclaw, he was out like a dead cat. He also had lots of pain in his belly for almost a quarter-moon. Poor tom."

Fleetheart took a strange Twoleg container from behind her. It was clear, made of the same material the clear barriers around the camp were made of. Inside, a thick, brown liquid swirled around as she removed the top of the container.

"It will probably hurt. But Panzer says this is much better than the herbs that the other clans use, so I guess you're better off."

The warrior cringed at her statement. Littlescent looked at her and softened her gaze. Fleetheart gripped the flask in her mouth, but set it down upon seeing the she-cat's ears shrieking back.

"Heavyclaw's wound was much worse than yours," she said. "Plus he decided to wait on telling us for almost a _whole_ night. Got to admire his strength, but he was already in pain when he finally came to us. I'm glad you listened to us and came as soon as possible. It could've been much worse than this."

She gently gripped the container in her mouth and moved directly over the she-cat's wound. The thick, brown liquid flowed from the flask and seeped over the warrior's wound. The she-cat screeched in pain but clenched her jaw, trying to stay still by wiggling her hind legs.

"Don't worry, it's only for a while," Fleetheart tried to assure, but the warrior wasn't listening. She was too busy clenching her jaw and wiggling her legs in pain.

Fleethart waited for her to stop squirming before she moved the spool of Twoleg wraps that Shortpaw found at sunhigh. "Littlescent, can you help for a second? Lift her shoulder up so I can wrap this around." Littlescent walked over and moved her paw under the warrior's and gently lifted. Fleetheart began to wrap the fake-fur around her patient's foreleg, holding it steady with her chin until it was tight enough to use both paws to finish the job.

"There we go. See? That wasn't so bad. Now try not to walk on that too much. The pain in your belly may or may not happen, and I'll tell Sharptooth you're off duty for a while."

"Thank you for the treatment," she said. The warrior slowly stood and stared at the small pool of the strange medicine she was just given. She was hesitant to sniff at it, and began limping towards the door, every step on her wounded leg causing her to twitch her tail.

"Don't thank me," Fleetheart said, ears perked. "Thank Panzer. She discovered how this stuff works… most of it at least.

The she-cat nodded her head before leaving the den.

"Is that how all of them react to that stuff," Littlescent asked.

"Pretty much. That stuff was made by Twolegs, for Twolegs. So I don't know exactly how it works. All I know is that it gets results, and that's what Panzer showed me. Nasty stuff, though. Don't ever drink it. So, how did the meeting go? No one wanted to tell me with Panzer in the room. She didn't tell me everything, I know it. Tell me everything!" The enthusiastic she-cat jumped right in front of Littlescent and plopped down on the floor.

"Well, I'm finally getting the assignments I've wanted."

"You know, you could be the next clan leader someday," Fleetheart said. "Always so serious and calm.

"I don't know about that," Littlestar said. "I just want to concentrate on what's happening now."

"Always thinking small, Littlescent." Fleetheart walked over and put the lid back on the small, clear container. "But I know you really think you can be clan leader someday, and I'll be right there at your ceremony. I can see it now!"

"Fleetheart, you're getting ahead of yourself again."

"Oh fine. Have it your way." She pushed the container aside, letting it fall to its side and slowly roll back and forth. "So what else happened?"

Littlescent quickly glanced behind her before sitting in front of Fleetheart. "I'm supposed to report to the Upper Territory borders, alone, for patrols. Just to see if there are wildcats there."

Fleetheart's long tail wagged back and forth. "Hey that sounds important. Longstar must have talked to Panzer about how scentless you really are. I didn't even know about that until I became an apprentice, and I know _everything_ about you… except that at the time I guess. But that's all in the past now." Fleetheart hopped up and began pacing in random patterns. "Do you think it'll be dangerous? Will you have to go into their territory? What does BreezeClan think of all this?"

As the medicine apprentice moved closer, Littlescent tilted her head back. "I don't know about all that yet. I don't even have on what I should be looking for. Right now I'm just waiting."

Fleetheart stopped pacing and walked towards the sleeping cat, near a box-shaped container with a single long strap on it. She got behind the container and began pushing it towards the back of the room.

"Well, whatever they have you doing Littlescent, don't overdo it. You can overheat pretty quickly, you know. And none of this medicine works on that."

Littlescent looked at the box that Fleetheart continued to push. She stared at a black symbol carved into the side of it. She had seen it before, decorated on red patches, always inside a white circle. "Fleetheart," she started. "Did Panzer ever tell you what that black marking was on that box? I've been seeing it all over since I was born, and never knew what it actually meant to them."

Fleetheart briefly glanced at it, and went back to her duties. "All I know is it's one of the symbols the Twoleg clans use. Their warriors are _always_ wearing it somewhere, usually on their shoulders. You'll have to ask Panzer about what it means to them. She's the only one of us who's really _really_ interested in 'why' of the Twolegs. Every time she talks about them to me, I never feel like I'm learning anything important about them, but don't tell her I said that."

Fleetheart pushed the box next to the back entrance and walked towards Littlescent.

"Did you see another one of those heavy-monsters? The Tigers? That time you told me about the live one that rolled by and shook the ground from under you sounds insane! Oh I have an idea; you could go find an empty one. It probably has that same mark on it, I know it. Panzer says they put that mark on everything. And a sleeping one won't make a mouse out of you when it rolls by!"

"Hey if you were there you would've hidden, too." Littlescent responded. Fleetheart walked away from her and towards the clear medicine container she used earlier. She gently picked it up in her jaw and walked towards the box.

Littlescent stretched her hind legs, letting her tail fall limp. "I'm going to check on the fresh-kill piles. You want to come with me?"

"Alright. I ate while you were at the meeting, but I'd just like to get out of here while no one's in." Fleetheart closed the lid of the box and looked at the sleeping cat once more before walking towards the exit.


	5. Chapter 4

Outside the medicine den, the area was busy with cats returning from their patrols. The warm sunlight still shined brightly through the many small holes along the walls of the camp.

"Well, what a surprise. I never see you _both_ out that den at the same time." Wolfgang was standing near the fresh-kill pile not far from the medicine cat's room. Littlescent began sniffing through the pile; several mice, a few rats, and two pigeons.

"Yeah, Panzer should be up in the queen's den right now," Fleetheart said.

"Don't we normally let the elders take care of that," he responded.

"There _are_ no elders right now, claw-swinger," Panzer hissed as she approached the pile. "Because when the feisty ones like me just sit on their flanks and rest all day, they become useless. Longstar will have to drag me to that den."

She began sniffing around the pile, poking the dead mice with her nose. "Hey Wolfbrain, how did these things die? There's no fang or claw marks on them. Just what are you trying to feed this clan anyway?"

"Actually, patrols found a ton of them, all dead like this." Wolfgang began poking at one of the dead rats, not a claw mark in sight. "Nothing seems to have killed them, they just died. Strangest thing."

Panzer stretched her hind legs. "If only I had these kinds of pawouts when I was young. Starting this clan was no easy thing either. Worked my tail off and many seasons later? I'm up there getting clawed at by that badger that pretends to be a cat. I didn't even come within a fox-length of her and she hisses and swipes at me like I'd just thrown one of her kits across the den. I'm tempted to send a tom up there just to mess with her. How about you?"

Wolfgang's ears shrieked back. "You know she'll kill me if I even get _near_ that den."

"Warriors afraid of a queen now? It's just one. You could probably take her anyway." Panzer rolled a small mouse out of the pile with her paw. "Well, I'll just take a small one this time, in case she decides to just play with it and tear it to pieces like the last _three_. Where was that kind of energy when she needed it? Theses warriors sometimes, honestly."

She was about to take the mouse in her teeth when she glanced at Fleetheart. "How's the sleeping one doing? Is he dead yet?"

"Nope. Still sleeping," she said. "The den's empty aside from him, also."

"Well, don't stray too far, Fleetheart. Never know when another one of _these_ warriors will injure themselves." She took the mouse in her teeth and began to walk back towards the stairs, mumbling to herself as she left. "And those things died from overheating, by the way," she shouted, her words distorted by the mouse she held.

"Well," started Wolfgang. "Always nice to see her visits run short."

"Aww she's not so bad once you get to know her," responded Fleetheart. "She can be a bit bitter, but she knows exactly what she's talking about."

"So you agree with her when she insults the warriors?" he said.

"Not at all! But, you know her. She's from a different time. Don't take it personally."

Wolfgang stopped poking the dead rat. "Hard not to when she seems to be following me around, taunting me just for her own amusement." Wolfgang turned to Littlescent, who was too busy thinking to notice the conversation.

She continued to look at the fresh-kill pile, counting up the unscratched dead mice.

 _Overheating,_ she thought. _I've only been like that a few times. Finding somewhere cold is usually enough. But, in the middle of Greenleaf, there is nowhere cold… I guess I should be more careful about how I move. I don't think I could ever imagine dying from something that's helped me so much as a warrior._

"Littlescent, you still there?" said Fleetheart. "Hey, Littlescent!"

"What?" she responded. "Sorry, I must've been thinking about something else."

"I'll say." Fleetheart rolled a mouse out of the pile and took it in her jaw. "Panzer's right though," she mumbled. "I should get back to that tom, make sure he's okay. I'll see guys at the Gathering." She turned and padded back towards the open door to the den.

"Wolfgang," Littlescent started. "Where exactly did you find these mice?"

"They were near the Lower Territories," he replied. "They were just lying there dead. We thought the rouges or the Twolegs killed them somehow, but we looked them over and found no injuries. I still can't see it being the heat. I mean, not even you have had problems recently with the heat. I still think it was one of those war-monsters."

Wolfgang motioned to three other cats lounging near the main entrance as he walked towards the south exit of the building. "We have more patrols set out to look for these things. You can come too if you want. I'm sure Sharptooth would approve. Special missions or not, I'm sure it will be safe."

"She'll be doing something else."

Sharptooth had walked up to the group after seeing Littlescent among them. "Longstar told me to assign you, alone, to alert BreezeClan of the meeting. We've already sent a group with Heavyclaw to tell LeafClan, but we shouldn't have to convince BreezeClan.

"While you're at it, practice your sneaking skills. They can't smell you very well but they can still see you. Always best to avoid the large cats when possible." Sharptooth turned towards the medicine cat's room, glanced at the two once more. "Once you get back try to get some sleep for the Gathering."

The grey fluffs of clouds seemed to roll on forever; not a ray of light shining through them. The paths were the sight that Littlescent had become used to. Upper floors of massive Twoleg nests lay crumbled along the thunderpaths, the objects they once held sharing the same fate. The hollow structures were absent of any Twoleg presence.

Littlescent examined their charred remains from the opposite side of the thunderpath, along the cold, long path set aside for the massive snake-monsters. She walked through the tall grass to stay just out of sight from vantage points atop the ruins. Among them was a thin structure, only a small skeleton of the first level to indicate as such.

 _The old camp,_ she thought. _Just one moon. We moved in, the sky monsters attacked, and we were gone. One moon is all it took to lose several cats._

She stopped walking when she reached the crossing the old camp was located on, where two multiple thunderpaths would cross each other. She gazed upon a large mound of rubble that blocked the wide path, littered with small flames.

 _My Stars! It's almost as tall as our camp. I bet it covers the entire tunderpath; I don't even think a heavy-monster could cross that, and I've seen one shatter the path beneath it. The power of the sky-monsters is terrifying. Truly terrifying… I just hope BreezeClan has dealt with the rising attacks better than we have._

Littlescent pondered it for just a few more moments before deciding to continue on with her assignment. She continued with thoughts of sky-monsters, unable to shake their display of power from her mind. She continued to walk along the tall, wood spikes used by the Twolegs to indicate borders.

She was in BreezeClan's territory. She sniffed the dusty air and waited, catching the scent of a nearby cat. She decided to test her skills, and crouched down on the wet soil, waiting for the cat to come closer. She crawled to a clearing in the grass and looked through it, spotting a white cat with a large black spot around his right eye.

He was alone, and hadn't found her yet. He continued to approach the grass, looking around in all directions until his eyes fell upon the towering mass of rubble that Littlescent had seen a while earlier.

Littlescent sat and watched him for a while, and decided to sneak up on the cat, knowing the BreezeClan cat wouldn't attack her. She slowly crept from her hiding spot in the grass and moved closer to the white cat. She got within a tree's length of him before she crunched through the blades of dead grass.

 _Mouse dirt!_

The tom shot his gaze at Littlescent, bearing his fangs and showing his claws for a brief moment before he calmed down.

"I almost attacked you, stone cat," he said with a sigh. "You nearly made me jump out of my fur."

"I take it you're not a warrior?" asked Littlescent.

"No, I am just out on patrol. I normally would not be out here, but the LeafClan cats have stepped up their presence in these open areas, and we can't afford to move back into these Twoleg structures. Too permanent for our clan's tastes." The black spotted tom shook the dirt from his fur and stretched out. "How did you even get that close? I may not be a warrior but I know my nose is sharper than that."

"Nothing's wrong with your nose, it's my body," she responded. "My fur and paw pads hold no scent. And I can't groom myself that well. But I didn't know I could stay hidden that close." Littlescent took another look at the massive pile of rubble, a little further away but fully visible since she wasn't in the grass anymore.

"So you must be the notable Littlescent our clan has heard about," the tom said. "From what I know, only Yellowstar and Blueclaw have ever seen you from our clan. I am Whitetail, by the way. Sub-leader of BreezeClan activities and medicine cat apprentice, at your service."

"Wait, _you're_ Whitetail?" Littlescent responded, surprised. "My clanmates said you're a deputy, and a medicine cat at that. And you're out on border patrol?"

Whitetail nodded his head. "Yes. It is day, so most of us are sleeping. Also, BreezeClan is not as large as it should be. Yellowstar says we cannot help any Twoleg cats with the sky-monster attacks going on; we have been lucky to get a few stumble by but…"

He paused and looked at the large pile of rubble that blocked the road. "That actually was not there a few nights ago; that last large sky-monster attack must have done it." He looked over at Littlescent, who was staring at the rubble wall as well. He only needed to look at her to tell she was thinking the same thing he was.

"So, what brings you to our borders?" he said. "Longstar probably sent you with a message; it is not like him to send cats out alone."

Littlescent interrupted her thoughts. "Of course, sorry about that. I was sent here to tell your clan that the Gathering has been pushed up to this moonhigh. Longstar called the emergency meeting to discuss our recent move to the LeafClan borders, and he's hoping your clan can help us… well, keep us from fighting at least."

"I am not surprised he would ask that from us," he responded. "Yellowstar will defiantly be fine with that, since everyone is on edge with LeafClan patrols expanding into our borders. I am supposed to be relieved by a marking team at some point, so I will tell her then."

"Why not tell her now?" Littlescent said.

"Yellowstar made it clear we cannot leave our patrol early unless there is a good reason, but you can tell her. She is not far; the empty horse-place near these snake-monster tracks is where we are camped. But actually, I want to talk to you more now. I have never met you before. Longstar says you do not leave camp often other than patrols."

"Oh, well sure," Littlescent said. "How about I come back after I tell Yellowstar and we can talk then. I'm sure Sharptooth wouldn't mind if I'm a little late."

Before Whitetail could answer, a high-pitched cry interrupted. It blared from all directions, overpowering the null sounds of the area and changing pitch every so often. Some Twolegs hiding in the destroyed nests scattered and ran down the thunderpaths, deeper into the nest complex. Whitetail and Littlescent immediately looked towards the sky.

Whitetail frantically tried to look past the clouds for signs of the attack. "I _really_ pray that these are the two-nosed ones. The four-nosed sky-monsters always attack in mass and most of our cats are in one place."

"I have to get back to camp," Littlescent shouted above the warning sirens. Longstar's rules for sky-monster attacks."

The cats remained still when they heard the first strike. The distant blast rumbled and the siren's call lingered in their ears as they continued to search the skies.

"Defiantly four-nosed ones. I think they are coming from further away," Whitetail meowed. "If so, they are far off the usual mark, since they usually hit the nests in front of us."

Littlescent began walking away. "I'm sorry, Whitetail, we'll have to talk later. Maybe after the Gathering?"

"Yes, of course. Please be careful on your way back; the clouds keep us from seeing them."

"Bye, for now." Littlescent turned away from the BreezeClan deputy and rushed back into the grass, running to her camp. She didn't look back, nor did she stop to look at the destroyed nests. She only ran and listened for the blasts. She listened for them in between the siren's pitches. She only slowed down when she figured out the targets.

 _I think they're hitting the water far beyond the Upper Territories, but hat's nowhere near us. They usually hit the nests near our old camp. The clouds threw off their attack this time…_

Littlescent stopped padding as she crouched down and stuck her head out of the bushes; she looked up for signs of the attackers. She just saw quick blasts right below the clouds; the sign that the _Achse_ Twolegs below had begun their attack.

 _I thank the Stars above for protecting my clan from the Twolegs._ Littlescent paused, waiting for a sign, but all she saw were the blasts just below the clouds. Soon, her vision of them was blocked by rising smoke and the trails left by the objects fired from the massive thundersticks. She stood up, moved back into the bushes, and began running again.


	6. Chapter 5

"Hey, right on time."

Littlescent walked out the open back entrance to camp, through the medicine den, and towards the rest of the meeting party. Wolfgang was standing next to Longstar and Shortpaw. Two other warriors were standing at their sides.

"We're just waiting on Fleetheart. Did you see her on your way here?"

"No," Littlescent responded. "She's probably just waking up or tending to the kits."

"Well, it's like Fleetheart to be a little late anyway. She should be here soon though." Littlescent sat near the group as she let out a long yawn. The clouds had cleared while she was sleeping, and she looked up at the sky. The stars were bright and the moon covered the area in a calm, pale light. Littlescent closed her eyes as she looked directly at it.

 _Please let this meeting go well,_ she thought. _I heard the others hadn't. And with the sky-monster attacks and all, we need to be on the same side._

Wolfgang stood as he watched a greyish-blue cat push the entrance wide open and slowly move towards the group. "Where's Fleetheart," he asked.

"I left her in the queen's den," Panzer responded. "Let her deal with that mess for a night."

"Panzer," Longstar started, moving from his conversation with a couple of warriors. "We talked about this."

She waved him away with a flick of her tail. "Yeah yeah, but this time I think Wolfstar might _actually_ show up, and I have a few words for that overgrown rat." She walked directly up to Longstar. "You aren't leaving me behind, not _this_ time. I'm not going back into camp until I've seen Wolfstar and the wind cats; don't you fight me this time."

Longstar paused for a while, weighing his 'options' against Panzer's stern expression. "Fine, you can come, but don't make a habit of it. I need you safe from harm."

"Yeah, and I want to make dirt all over the leaf cat's camp. But we can still dream, at least. Now let's go." Panzer began padding off into the clearing, with the warriors quickly following.

"Behind us, Panzer," Longstar called out. "I want you _safe_."

Panzer mumbled all the way back to her place in the line, just in front of Littlescent at the rear. "At least I've got the Littleclaw as cover. If it's one thing she's good at, which isn't much…"

Littlescent did her best to ignore her as the group continued down the thunderpath that marked the clan's borders. They quickly made their way down the path and towards a crossing of a set of snake-monster tracks and the path itself.

 _It would be terrible if one came during the Gathering,_ Littlescent thought, watching the group step over the tall, grey tracks. _Those things are so loud and disruptive. And they might scare off the others. Even a wildcat has to know what they can't beat._

The wind picked up as she reached the other side with the rest of the party. It carried a strong scent she instantly recognized. In front of the group was a deep hole. The whole thunderpath blocked off by silverthorns.

Littlescent caught the spike's silver glint in her eyes.

 _Brand new. Just put up by the Twolegs no more than a night ago… I really,_ really _hate those things. But it does mean there are no Twolegs or monsters in this area. So that's something good that comes of those things, I guess._

The group easily slipped through a hole in the barrier, emerging in front of a large, circular pad in the center of a clearing. The clearing itself was an elevated patch of grass planted in the center of the circular thunderpath by the Twolegs for decoration. Several trees blocked the view of the inside. Overgrown bushes nearly cut off the way in.

"We can smell your stench already, leaf cats," Panzer started. "All this tree sap and flowers aren't going to hide you from _these_ noses."

"They're over there. Breeze cats are with them," Wolfgang said from inside. The rest quickly made their way off the thunderpath and into the small grass area. In the center was a smooth, glossy rock that reflected the small amount of moonlight that managed to slip through the thick tree canopy. The tall grass and thick branches almost hid the angry eyes of several cats. Littlescent watched each set of eyes, looking as if they would pounce at any second.

"As usual, Wolfstar," Longstar shouted, leaping onto the smooth rock, "you hide your warrior's scents in these thick plant smells. There are no tricks here. No need to be ready to fight." Longstar put his paw on the slick rock before him, watching the eyes moving into view.

Several large wildcats walked towards the group from the overgrown bushes. Each of them larger than any StoneClan cat. Their thick, striped tails flicked back and forth as they looked over each of the cats. Each of their short, stout faces threatened them when they walked to the other side of the rock. One of them saw Longstar already on the rock.

"Breeze cats came earlier. They're under tree."

She flicked her ringed tail at one of the sap-laden trees. A small group of five moved towards the rock; Littlescent recognized Whitetail immediately. She watched as he made way for a large, striped she-cat with small, yellow eyes. Yellowstar put her paw on the rock and looked towards Panzer. A small cat with a silver-blue coat emerged from behind Yellowstar, watching the group of StoneClan cats move about.

"You brought _her_ along?" Panzer left Littlescent's side and leaped onto the rock. "Typical Yellowcat, best of the best and all that." She turned away from the BreezeClan group as she sat at her place near the rock.

"Hi, littermate," she scoffed.

"Yeah, nice to see you too," Blueclaw responded, rolling her eyes.

As the others settled into various places on the rock, two LeafClan cats approached alongside a third in the middle. Littlescent winced back a little at the size of the three wildcats that approached. She examined the center cat as he limped towards the rock, his brown, patchy fur riddled with old scars. All three quickly leaped onto the rock and took their place, closest to where their hidden warriors still laid in wait.

"Just like I said, Wolfstar," said Longstar. "No tricks."

"You lie," he barked back. "There were only six of you but you show up with seven. Cannot smell seven?"

"Wolfstar," Yellowstar said, shaking out her thin, orange coat. "The sooner we get through this Gathering, the sooner you can leave."

"Watch your tongue, Star-eyed cat!" Wolfstar shouted. "You forget ground you sit belongs to LeafClan." He looked around the rock, eyeing over each cat. "Not strongest in litters here, Longstar. You stayed soft." He put his paw in the center of the rock with the other leaders.

Yellowstar settled, removing her paw from the center. "Now that we are all here, I ask the Stars above to guide us all to peace at this time." The breeze died down as Yellowstar turned to Longstar. "Since you called this emergency Gathering, please state what it is that troubles you?"

Longstar looked towards the stars as the others waited for him to speak. "For the past few moons, we have seen an increasing presence of other clan's cats in our territory. There has been no trouble from BreezeClan, but the LeafClan cats have been hunting, scouting, and even taunting our cats."

"Well I not telling them to." Wolfstar responded.

"Yes, but it's happening. If it's not you then they're acting on their own."

"You _dare_ accuse my warriors acting without orders?" he snapped.

Longstar shook his head. "Well, either they're doing it on their own or someone's telling them to."

"It is not just StoneClan," Yellowstar said. "We are not even close to your borders, but we have been harassed by your cats. They keep marking beyond our borders, and hissing at us whenever we come into contact."

"You accuse whole clan," hissed the large, all white she-cat next to Wolfstar, her red eyes glaring at the BreezeClan leader. She had no stripes, unlike the others. "Give us proof, more than just words!"

"Hold yourself, Flyfoot. I said not speak." Wolfstar glanced at the cat beside him. Flyfoot withdrew her anger.

"You want examples," Panzer started. "I'll give you some. A quarter-moon ago, one of _your_ marking teams was out there hissing at Sharptooth and Poule for no reason. The next moonhigh, I saw your warriors—"

"I want to hear from Longstar." Wolfstar interrupted. "Stop talking, old kittypet."

"Hold yourself you raspy old badger." Wolfstar bore his teeth and let out a low pitched meow. "I'm not done yet. _Your_ warriors that next night taunted Wolfgang while he was out on patrol. Sometime after that, they decided it'd be fun to mark all over our Upper Territory. There were at least nine of them doing it; took us several patrol teams to get them out."

"You have no proof." He said.

" _And_ just this sunhigh," she continued, "Wolfgang chased off two of your warriors who had the skin to hunt on our territory."

"My second informs me of all warriors' moves," he said proudly. "No such reports since Pact. Ever."

"Because _you're_ the one giving the orders, you dirt-brained claw swinger!" Panzer shouted. "To you, there's no need to tell you because breaking truces and acting out are just normal actions for you."

"Watch your tongue, little Twoleg pet," Wolfstar hissed.

"You know what the best part was? How your 'brave and fearless' wildcat warriors fled from a young kittypet. But you know what's even better than that? How your patrols keep yelping at me and eyeing _me_. So what does that say about the mind of your 'wild' toms?"

Flyfoot stood, and Panzer stared right into her narrowed eyes.

"That's right, young one. Your toms seem to prefer the bodies of old little kittypets to strong healthy wildcats like yourself. Of course how healthy could your cats be when all you do is eat carcasses and wrap open wounds in plants?"

"You shut your mouth, kittypet!" Flyfoot's long fur started bristling. Her short snout curled, revealing rows of stained teeth.

Panzer met her gaze, unmoved. "Or maybe they just like how nice we are. Unlike you savages, we are beyond fang-baring and hissing to say 'hello'… that deranged look that you have on your face right now. I think you just might have a bit more rocks inside your head than most. You must be the designated mating cat?"

"We not here _to_ _be insulted!_ " Wolfstar cried as the rest of the LeafClan cats surrounding the rock began to hiss and groan at them. "She leaves or we leave."

The LeafClan cats cried out in agreement, and Longstar looked at Panzer who was still staring at Flyfoot. She knew she would have to go.

The old medicine cat flicked her tail. "Fine. I said what I needed to say and what the wildcats needed to hear. Young ones, stay here. I want you to learn how these ones think. They seem particularly stupid."

She pointed to the two other warriors, who were sitting just below the rock. "You two, get me back to camp. Wouldn't want any of these leaf cats to act on any of their weird urges towards me."

" _Leave!"_ Wolfstar shouted.

The two warriors moved alongside Panzer, leaving Shortpaw, Littlescent, and Wolfgang behind. They made it to the edge of the grassy area when Panzer turned back towards Wolfstar. "Also, tell that apprentice grass healer cat to learn how to use some _real_ medicine. I'll throw some over the border for her. Do your clan a favor and tell her to drink it down real good. When the mouth-gagging and twitching starts, that means it's working."

Flyfoot let out a loud hiss, dashing across her place on the rock and glaring down towards Panzer.

"Oh right, you're that apprentice grass-healer," Panzer said, pausing and pretending to thing. "In that case, tell Mousetail to learn some real medicine. _Then_ drink the stuff I give you."

"Panzer, go," Longstar said.

"Just telling her the truth, that's all," she responded before crouching through the overgrown bushes along with the other two warriors.

Wolfstar returned his attention to the groups in front of him. Longstar watched the rest of the LeafClan cats sit down and restrain themselves.

"Do _your_ clan favor," Wolfstar said. "Elder that snake-tonged old kittypet."

"What she says is true Wolfstar," Longstar responded. "Before the insults. Your cats are harassing us. It's been like this for a few moons now."

"All of these actions break the Pact," said Yellowstar. "StoneClan and LeafClan are not to violate each other's borders—"

"I don't need you telling me rules, Star-eyed cat," he snapped. "I know Pact. It is StoneClan who breaks it first. They extend borders many times in past moons."

Longstar nodded. "I told you in the last meeting that it's the sky-monsters. They keep hitting the Twoleg dens. A moon ago, we lost many cats to their attack near our old camp. It even forced BreezeClan to leave the Twoleg territory altogether."

"Fire-fallers are no excuse to extend territory," said Wolfstar, pointing his tail towards the sky. "You knew what threats Twoleg territory holds."

"No one could've seen _this_ coming though," Longstar said, also pointing his tail upward. "While we were at war, the sky-monsters never attacked. They just flew overhead. That was a long time ago, and now they fly in the opposite direction and attack the Twoleg warriros."

"We get big heavy thunder-spitters; move across our thunderpaths. Eagleclaw reports at least one seen every moonhigh. And large earth-shakers roll along at least once each two nights. We _live_ next to their tracks. But we don't fear them, we don't move borders. We honor Pact, and our warriors only protect what is… _was_ ours."

"But you haven't had trouble with sky-monsters," Longstar said. "They aren't like the ones that used to roll along the thunderpaths or the set, long paths. They fly, they drop fire, they can't be stopped or avoided, and they keep coming back. And we can never know when. Even the Twolegs fear them; they run from them just as we do."

Wolfstar shrugged off his words. "We let you have it. We only move because it was worthless Twoleg-filled territory. Nothing to hunt but mice and pigeons. But you move far as you can runt cats. Past that place you call camp is, was, deep LeafClan territory. You too close to our camp. Move somewhere else, further into your territory."

Longstar looked at Yellowstar's concerned face. He tried to think of a solution to help both clans. Littlescent examined Longstar over as he twitched his tail from side to side, thinking.

"Wolfstar, I want to make this easy," Longstar said. "What about giving us access to the regions that border our Upper Territories, in exchange for something? Just to have a place to go when the sky-monsters attack."

"Defiantly not," he responded. "Border regions are no limits. You and star cats stay away."

"This isn't about territory," Longstar said. "It's about the safety of our clan—"

"Which I care not for," Wolfstar snapped. "You live Twoleg territory, you deal with Twoleg problems. You have plenty of food while we left to fend with empty territory. You lucky I'm not sending you back to old camp borders."

Longstar's tail flicked around anxiously. "Our means are peaceful. We just want to survive and I just want my clan to be left when it's all over. Your camp lies well beyond our Upper Territories and never sees sky-monster attacks like we do. We're trying to avoid any conflict here. We don't want anything other than our lives."

"Don't care." Wolfstar turned away from the other leaders.

"If it's food you need," Longstar said. "We could give your clan tribute in exchange for safety—"

Wolfstar hissed at his comment. "No, no! By the Stars, no. Do you think we are kittypets to be fed?"

Wolfstar stretched his legs with a cool gust of wind. He then began talking to Flyfoot and the other large wildcat at his side. Littlescent looked towards Yellowstar. The BreezeClan leader's tail flicked back and forth as she watched the wildcats converse.

Littlescent closed her eyes, bowing her head a little.

 _I know now what kind of cat Wolfstar is, and Panzer wasn't kidding. Maybe exaggerating, though. Wolfstar didn't even want to_ hear _what we had to offer. Let alone what we had to say. If you can hear me, we need this to work, please. We_ _—"_

"They won't listen," Wolfstar said, his voice muddled and deep. Littlescent, snapped from her thoughts, stared at the scarred brown wildcat. "Not this time. Some things StarClan want you to solve alone. And if it their will you die and we starve, then you better not listen anyway."

Her body ran cold for just a brief second staring into the old wildcat tom's eyes. She knew that his gaze was sincere and meant what he had said. Yellowstar looked on, nearly in shock, at what the tom had said. Longstar's paws tapped the rock's surface impatiently.

Another wildcat walked up to the group, rearing up to rest his paws on the rock directly behind Wolfstar. He whispered something to him, and he nodded his head.

"Eagleclaw tells me trouble at camp. I go myself to deal with it. So you finish talking with Horsepelt and Flyfoot here." In one leap he was away from the rock with two of the surrounding warriors at his side. "LeafClan, I want other clans gone soon." He quickly crawled through the overgrown bushes, despite his limp, and disappeared along with the two wildcats.

The warriors that continued to surround the group perked up their ears and went back on alert. Horsepelt and Flyfoot both touched their paws to the center of the rock and retracted them.

"Anything else you add before we leave," Horsepelt asked. Flyfoot refused to make eye contact with Longstar, the scowl on her face still fresh from Panzer's rant.

"Just one more thing," stated Yellowstar. "Just ask Wolfstar to consider all that was said here, and at least to end the harassing of our clans."

"That old kittypet speaks lies," spat Flyfoot. "Can't trust her." Ignoring her comment, the dark brown tom looked up at the stars for a brief moment, a gust of wind chilling his fur.

"No promise he'll listen, but I will," Horsepelt said. Flyfoot began glancing at the other warriors. They broke their formation around the rock and quickly moved out of the dense clearing. She followed without another glance at the other cats, leaving Horsepelt alone on the rock, still surrounded by the glaring eyes of his hidden clanmates.

"Also… please tell Wolfstar not to lose faith in StarClan." Yellowstar said. "Terrible things have happened to cats who do, and we do not wish to see him meet one."

Horsepelt shook his head, his long fur waving in the breeze. "He not faithless. Not yet. Just angry at them for silence during his clan's suffering. You want more, speak to Mousetail at the medicine cat Gathering next moonhigh."

He turned away from the other clans. "No matter what Wolfstar says, we all have to deal with fire-fallers. One way or another." He leaped off the rock and disappeared through the overgrowth, the wind completely dying down as he did. Longstar and Yellowstar moved from the center of the rock, observing their surroundings.

Yellowstar sighed. "This is no longer about territory and old rivalries. If only Wolfstar saw the importance of working together during this time. But I'm more concerned with his faith in the Stars."

"So am I." Longstar said. "StarClan has never been kind to the faithless. At least he may stop harassing our clans now that we've brought it up… but I was really hoping to reach a deal with him. One that could have led to a permanent peace."

Yellowstar whispered something to Whitetail. He and Blueclaw quickly made their way off the rock and through the overgrowth.

"We should go," Yellowstar said, watching around at the eyes that glared back at her. "They are waiting for us to return to our territory."

The group leaped from the rock and towards the overgrown bushes. Littlescent looked closer for any visual signs of the wildcats. She could not see any part of them; only their eyes.

 _It's much different when a cat from another clan says they can't smell me. They feel threatened and surprised. Wildcats couldn't detect me while I was downwind. Either all this sap and overgrowth messed with their noses or they really couldn't detect me. I feel like StarClan has given me a purpose with this._

 _And even if I've never heard from them in my lifetime, I will fulfil that purpose… whatever it is._


	7. Chapter 6

"Hey, right on time."

Littlescent walked out the open back entrance to camp, through the medicine den, and towards the rest of the meeting party. Wolfgang was standing next to Longstar and Shortpaw. Two other warriors were standing at their sides.

"We're just waiting on Fleetheart. Did you see her on your way here?"

"No," Littlescent responded. "She's probably just waking up or tending to the kits."

"Well, it's like Fleetheart to be a little late anyway. She should be here soon though." Littlescent sat near the group as she let out a long yawn. The clouds had cleared while she was sleeping, and she looked up at the sky. The stars were bright and the moon covered the area in a calm, pale light. Littlescent closed her eyes as she looked directly at it.

 _Please let this meeting go well,_ she thought. _I heard the others hadn't. And with the sky-monster attacks and all, we need to be on the same side._

Wolfgang stood as he watched a greyish-blue cat push the entrance wide open and slowly move towards the group. "Where's Fleetheart," he asked.

"I left her in the queen's den," Panzer responded. "Let her deal with that mess for a night."

"Panzer," Longstar started, moving from his conversation with a couple of warriors. "We talked about this."

She waved him away with a flick of her tail. "Yeah yeah, but this time I think Wolfstar might _actually_ show up, and I have a few words for that overgrown rat." She walked directly up to Longstar. "You aren't leaving me behind, not _this_ time. I'm not going back into camp until I've seen Wolfstar and the wind cats; don't you fight me this time."

Longstar paused for a while, weighing his 'options' against Panzer's stern expression. "Fine, you can come, but don't make a habit of it. I need you safe from harm."

"Yeah, and I want to make dirt all over the leaf cat's camp. But we can still dream, at least. Now let's go." Panzer began padding off into the clearing, with the warriors quickly following.

"Behind us, Panzer," Longstar called out. "I want you _safe_."

Panzer mumbled all the way back to her place in the line, just in front of Littlescent at the rear. "At least I've got the Littleclaw as cover. If it's one thing she's good at, which isn't much…"

Littlescent did her best to ignore her as the group continued down the thunderpath that marked the clan's borders. They quickly made their way down the path and towards a crossing of a set of snake-monster tracks and the path itself.

 _It would be terrible if one came during the Gathering,_ Littlescent thought, watching the group step over the tall, grey tracks. _Those things are so loud and disruptive. And they might scare off the others. Even a wildcat has to know what they can't beat._

The wind picked up as she reached the other side with the rest of the party. It carried a strong scent she instantly recognized. In front of the group was a deep hole. The whole thunderpath blocked off by silverthorns.

Littlescent caught the spike's silver glint in her eyes.

 _Brand new. Just put up by the Twolegs no more than a night ago… I really,_ really _hate those things. But it does mean there are no Twolegs or monsters in this area. So that's something good that comes of those things, I guess._

The group easily slipped through a hole in the barrier, emerging in front of a large, circular pad in the center of a clearing. The clearing itself was an elevated patch of grass planted in the center of the circular thunderpath by the Twolegs for decoration. Several trees blocked the view of the inside. Overgrown bushes nearly cut off the way in.

"We can smell your stench already, leaf cats," Panzer started. "All this tree sap and flowers aren't going to hide you from _these_ noses."

"They're over there. Breeze cats are with them," Wolfgang said from inside. The rest quickly made their way off the thunderpath and into the small grass area. In the center was a smooth, glossy rock that reflected the small amount of moonlight that managed to slip through the thick tree canopy. The tall grass and thick branches almost hid the angry eyes of several cats. Littlescent watched each set of eyes, looking as if they would pounce at any second.

"As usual, Wolfstar," Longstar shouted, leaping onto the smooth rock, "you hide your warrior's scents in these thick plant smells. There are no tricks here. No need to be ready to fight." Longstar put his paw on the slick rock before him, watching the eyes moving into view.

Several large wildcats walked towards the group from the overgrown bushes. Each of them larger than any StoneClan cat. Their thick, striped tails flicked back and forth as they looked over each of the cats. Each of their short, stout faces threatened them when they walked to the other side of the rock. One of them saw Longstar already on the rock.

"Breeze cats came earlier. They're under tree."

She flicked her ringed tail at one of the sap-laden trees. A small group of five moved towards the rock; Littlescent recognized Whitetail immediately. She watched as he made way for a large, striped she-cat with small, yellow eyes. Yellowstar put her paw on the rock and looked towards Panzer. A small cat with a silver-blue coat emerged from behind Yellowstar, watching the group of StoneClan cats move about.

"You brought _her_ along?" Panzer left Littlescent's side and leaped onto the rock. "Typical Yellowcat, best of the best and all that." She turned away from the BreezeClan group as she sat at her place near the rock.

"Hi, littermate," she scoffed.

"Yeah, nice to see you too," Blueclaw responded, rolling her eyes.

As the others settled into various places on the rock, two LeafClan cats approached alongside a third in the middle. Littlescent winced back a little at the size of the three wildcats that approached. She examined the center cat as he limped towards the rock, his brown, patchy fur riddled with old scars. All three quickly leaped onto the rock and took their place, closest to where their hidden warriors still laid in wait.

"Just like I said, Wolfstar," said Longstar. "No tricks."

"You lie," he barked back. "There were only six of you but you show up with seven. Cannot smell seven?"

"Wolfstar," Yellowstar said, shaking out her thin, orange coat. "The sooner we get through this Gathering, the sooner you can leave."

"Watch your tongue, Star-eyed cat!" Wolfstar shouted. "You forget ground you sit belongs to LeafClan." He looked around the rock, eyeing over each cat. "Not strongest in litters here, Longstar. You stayed soft." He put his paw in the center of the rock with the other leaders.

Yellowstar settled, removing her paw from the center. "Now that we are all here, I ask the Stars above to guide us all to peace at this time." The breeze died down as Yellowstar turned to Longstar. "Since you called this emergency Gathering, please state what it is that troubles you?"

Longstar looked towards the stars as the others waited for him to speak. "For the past few moons, we have seen an increasing presence of other clan's cats in our territory. There has been no trouble from BreezeClan, but the LeafClan cats have been hunting, scouting, and even taunting our cats."

"Well I not telling them to." Wolfstar responded.

"Yes, but it's happening. If it's not you then they're acting on their own."

"You _dare_ accuse my warriors acting without orders?" he snapped.

Longstar shook his head. "Well, either they're doing it on their own or someone's telling them to."

"It is not just StoneClan," Yellowstar said. "We are not even close to your borders, but we have been harassed by your cats. They keep marking beyond our borders, and hissing at us whenever we come into contact."

"You accuse whole clan," hissed the large, all white she-cat next to Wolfstar, her red eyes glaring at the BreezeClan leader. She had no stripes, unlike the others. "Give us proof, more than just words!"

"Hold yourself, Flyfoot. I said not speak." Wolfstar glanced at the cat beside him. Flyfoot withdrew her anger.

"You want examples," Panzer started. "I'll give you some. A quarter-moon ago, one of _your_ marking teams was out there hissing at Sharptooth and Poule for no reason. The next moonhigh, I saw your warriors—"

"I want to hear from Longstar." Wolfstar interrupted. "Stop talking, old kittypet."

"Hold yourself you raspy old badger." Wolfstar bore his teeth and let out a low pitched meow. "I'm not done yet. _Your_ warriors that next night taunted Wolfgang while he was out on patrol. Sometime after that, they decided it'd be fun to mark all over our Upper Territory. There were at least nine of them doing it; took us several patrol teams to get them out."

"You have no proof." He said.

" _And_ just this sunhigh," she continued, "Wolfgang chased off two of your warriors who had the skin to hunt on our territory."

"My second informs me of all warriors' moves," he said proudly. "No such reports since Pact. Ever."

"Because _you're_ the one giving the orders, you dirt-brained claw swinger!" Panzer shouted. "To you, there's no need to tell you because breaking truces and acting out are just normal actions for you."

"Watch your tongue, little Twoleg pet," Wolfstar hissed.

"You know what the best part was? How your 'brave and fearless' wildcat warriors fled from a young kittypet. But you know what's even better than that? How your patrols keep yelping at me and eyeing _me_. So what does that say about the mind of your 'wild' toms?"

Flyfoot stood, and Panzer stared right into her narrowed eyes.

"That's right, young one. Your toms seem to prefer the bodies of old little kittypets to strong healthy wildcats like yourself. Of course how healthy could your cats be when all you do is eat carcasses and wrap open wounds in plants?"

"You shut your mouth, kittypet!" Flyfoot's long fur started bristling. Her short snout curled, revealing rows of stained teeth.

Panzer met her gaze, unmoved. "Or maybe they just like how nice we are. Unlike you savages, we are beyond fang-baring and hissing to say 'hello'… that deranged look that you have on your face right now. I think you just might have a bit more rocks inside your head than most. You must be the designated mating cat?"

"We not here _to_ _be insulted!_ " Wolfstar cried as the rest of the LeafClan cats surrounding the rock began to hiss and groan at them. "She leaves or we leave."

The LeafClan cats cried out in agreement, and Longstar looked at Panzer who was still staring at Flyfoot. She knew she would have to go.

The old medicine cat flicked her tail. "Fine. I said what I needed to say and what the wildcats needed to hear. Young ones, stay here. I want you to learn how these ones think. They seem particularly stupid."

She pointed to the two other warriors, who were sitting just below the rock. "You two, get me back to camp. Wouldn't want any of these leaf cats to act on any of their weird urges towards me."

" _Leave!"_ Wolfstar shouted.

The two warriors moved alongside Panzer, leaving Shortpaw, Littlescent, and Wolfgang behind. They made it to the edge of the grassy area when Panzer turned back towards Wolfstar. "Also, tell that apprentice grass healer cat to learn how to use some _real_ medicine. I'll throw some over the border for her. Do your clan a favor and tell her to drink it down real good. When the mouth-gagging and twitching starts, that means it's working."

Flyfoot let out a loud hiss, dashing across her place on the rock and glaring down towards Panzer.

"Oh right, you're that apprentice grass-healer," Panzer said, pausing and pretending to thing. "In that case, tell Mousetail to learn some real medicine. _Then_ drink the stuff I give you."

"Panzer, go," Longstar said.

"Just telling her the truth, that's all," she responded before crouching through the overgrown bushes along with the other two warriors.

Wolfstar returned his attention to the groups in front of him. Longstar watched the rest of the LeafClan cats sit down and restrain themselves.

"Do _your_ clan favor," Wolfstar said. "Elder that snake-tonged old kittypet."

"What she says is true Wolfstar," Longstar responded. "Before the insults. Your cats are harassing us. It's been like this for a few moons now."

"All of these actions break the Pact," said Yellowstar. "StoneClan and LeafClan are not to violate each other's borders—"

"I don't need you telling me rules, Star-eyed cat," he snapped. "I know Pact. It is StoneClan who breaks it first. They extend borders many times in past moons."

Longstar nodded. "I told you in the last meeting that it's the sky-monsters. They keep hitting the Twoleg dens. A moon ago, we lost many cats to their attack near our old camp. It even forced BreezeClan to leave the Twoleg territory altogether."

"Fire-fallers are no excuse to extend territory," said Wolfstar, pointing his tail towards the sky. "You knew what threats Twoleg territory holds."

"No one could've seen _this_ coming though," Longstar said, also pointing his tail upward. "While we were at war, the sky-monsters never attacked. They just flew overhead. That was a long time ago, and now they fly in the opposite direction and attack the Twoleg warriros."

"We get big heavy thunder-spitters; move across our thunderpaths. Eagleclaw reports at least one seen every moonhigh. And large earth-shakers roll along at least once each two nights. We _live_ next to their tracks. But we don't fear them, we don't move borders. We honor Pact, and our warriors only protect what is… _was_ ours."

"But you haven't had trouble with sky-monsters," Longstar said. "They aren't like the ones that used to roll along the thunderpaths or the set, long paths. They fly, they drop fire, they can't be stopped or avoided, and they keep coming back. And we can never know when. Even the Twolegs fear them; they run from them just as we do."

Wolfstar shrugged off his words. "We let you have it. We only move because it was worthless Twoleg-filled territory. Nothing to hunt but mice and pigeons. But you move far as you can runt cats. Past that place you call camp is, was, deep LeafClan territory. You too close to our camp. Move somewhere else, further into your territory."

Longstar looked at Yellowstar's concerned face. He tried to think of a solution to help both clans. Littlescent examined Longstar over as he twitched his tail from side to side, thinking.

"Wolfstar, I want to make this easy," Longstar said. "What about giving us access to the regions that border our Upper Territories, in exchange for something? Just to have a place to go when the sky-monsters attack."

"Defiantly not," he responded. "Border regions are no limits. You and star cats stay away."

"This isn't about territory," Longstar said. "It's about the safety of our clan—"

"Which I care not for," Wolfstar snapped. "You live Twoleg territory, you deal with Twoleg problems. You have plenty of food while we left to fend with empty territory. You lucky I'm not sending you back to old camp borders."

Longstar's tail flicked around anxiously. "Our means are peaceful. We just want to survive and I just want my clan to be left when it's all over. Your camp lies well beyond our Upper Territories and never sees sky-monster attacks like we do. We're trying to avoid any conflict here. We don't want anything other than our lives."

"Don't care." Wolfstar turned away from the other leaders.

"If it's food you need," Longstar said. "We could give your clan tribute in exchange for safety—"

Wolfstar hissed at his comment. "No, no! By the Stars, no. Do you think we are kittypets to be fed?"

Wolfstar stretched his legs with a cool gust of wind. He then began talking to Flyfoot and the other large wildcat at his side. Littlescent looked towards Yellowstar. The BreezeClan leader's tail flicked back and forth as she watched the wildcats converse.

Littlescent closed her eyes, bowing her head a little.

 _I know now what kind of cat Wolfstar is, and Panzer wasn't kidding. Maybe exaggerating, though. Wolfstar didn't even want to_ hear _what we had to offer. Let alone what we had to say. If you can hear me, we need this to work, please. We_ _—"_

"They won't listen," Wolfstar said, his voice muddled and deep. Littlescent, snapped from her thoughts, stared at the scarred brown wildcat. "Not this time. Some things StarClan want you to solve alone. And if it their will you die and we starve, then you better not listen anyway."

Her body ran cold for just a brief second staring into the old wildcat tom's eyes. She knew that his gaze was sincere and meant what he had said. Yellowstar looked on, nearly in shock, at what the tom had said. Longstar's paws tapped the rock's surface impatiently.

Another wildcat walked up to the group, rearing up to rest his paws on the rock directly behind Wolfstar. He whispered something to him, and he nodded his head.

"Eagleclaw tells me trouble at camp. I go myself to deal with it. So you finish talking with Horsepelt and Flyfoot here." In one leap he was away from the rock with two of the surrounding warriors at his side. "LeafClan, I want other clans gone soon." He quickly crawled through the overgrown bushes, despite his limp, and disappeared along with the two wildcats.

The warriors that continued to surround the group perked up their ears and went back on alert. Horsepelt and Flyfoot both touched their paws to the center of the rock and retracted them.

"Anything else you add before we leave," Horsepelt asked. Flyfoot refused to make eye contact with Longstar, the scowl on her face still fresh from Panzer's rant.

"Just one more thing," stated Yellowstar. "Just ask Wolfstar to consider all that was said here, and at least to end the harassing of our clans."

"That old kittypet speaks lies," spat Flyfoot. "Can't trust her." Ignoring her comment, the dark brown tom looked up at the stars for a brief moment, a gust of wind chilling his fur.

"No promise he'll listen, but I will," Horsepelt said. Flyfoot began glancing at the other warriors. They broke their formation around the rock and quickly moved out of the dense clearing. She followed without another glance at the other cats, leaving Horsepelt alone on the rock, still surrounded by the glaring eyes of his hidden clanmates.

"Also… please tell Wolfstar not to lose faith in StarClan." Yellowstar said. "Terrible things have happened to cats who do, and we do not wish to see him meet one."

Horsepelt shook his head, his long fur waving in the breeze. "He not faithless. Not yet. Just angry at them for silence during his clan's suffering. You want more, speak to Mousetail at the medicine cat Gathering next moonhigh."

He turned away from the other clans. "No matter what Wolfstar says, we all have to deal with fire-fallers. One way or another." He leaped off the rock and disappeared through the overgrowth, the wind completely dying down as he did. Longstar and Yellowstar moved from the center of the rock, observing their surroundings.

Yellowstar sighed. "This is no longer about territory and old rivalries. If only Wolfstar saw the importance of working together during this time. But I'm more concerned with his faith in the Stars."

"So am I." Longstar said. "StarClan has never been kind to the faithless. At least he may stop harassing our clans now that we've brought it up… but I was really hoping to reach a deal with him. One that could have led to a permanent peace."

Yellowstar whispered something to Whitetail. He and Blueclaw quickly made their way off the rock and through the overgrowth.

"We should go," Yellowstar said, watching around at the eyes that glared back at her. "They are waiting for us to return to our territory."

The group leaped from the rock and towards the overgrown bushes. Littlescent looked closer for any visual signs of the wildcats. She could not see any part of them; only their eyes.

 _It's much different when a cat from another clan says they can't smell me. They feel threatened and surprised. Wildcats couldn't detect me while I was downwind. Either all this sap and overgrowth messed with their noses or they really couldn't detect me. I feel like StarClan has given me a purpose with this._

 _And even if I've never heard from them in my lifetime, I will fulfil that purpose… whatever it is._


	8. Chapter 7

Bright sunlight poured through the holes in the walls of the camp, warming Littlescent's fur as she descended from the second floor. She glanced around the base floor for Longstar or Sharptooth, but neither was out. Just a few cats eating and lounging; she knew the rest were sleeping in the dens. However, the medicine den was still open.

Littlescent stretched as she reached the bottom of the steps.

 _I bet Fleetheart's asleep right now, but I guess I could check. I'd like to tell her about Horsepelt. She might have some ideas about what I should do… hopefully Panzer isn't there._

The fresh-kill pile was nearly empty, just a few mice and a bird. Littlescent picked up a small mouse in her teeth made her way to the open medicine den. She poked her head in and saw Fleetheart sorting through a few objects found on her patrol.

"Hey," Littlescent said, looking around the den.

Fleetheart spun around and spat out one of the objects. "You sound like you just woke up. And so do I. Well to you it sounds normal but to me I'm still kind of tired." She nudged one of the objects towards the pouch she had carried earlier.

"Isn't it great? We found tons of good stuff this time. More of those soft white rolls of fake-fur and this container of stuff that Panzer says can put a cat to sleep! She calls it a _nadel_ and says you stick it in Twoleg skin to keep them still when they're hurt.

"Oh, we also saw that big, grey, Tiger monster that scared you last time. But I wasn't scared."

Littlescent spat her mouse onto the floor. "Wait, so it rolled right past you?"

"Yeah. We all ran under the destroyed nests to hide from it, but I guess we didn't need to."

"I'll say. They could care less what we do," said a grey and black tabby as he entered the den. A small brown she-cat followed close behind. "There's no reason to be scared of them."

Fleetheart pushed the pile of objects away from her. "Oh, so the brave and mighty Wolfgang isn't scared of Tigers?"

"War-monsters are always scary," Wolfgang said. "I just said _Tigers_ are nothing to be scared of."

"I bet it you walked right in front of one it would aim its thunderstick right at you and–"

"That thing's way too big and slow to hit me."

"Then you can claw it open and destroy them! I bet you'd have the Twolegs inside running, huh?"

"That's ridiculous, only another monster could possibly kill that thing."

"So the brave and mighty Wolfgang _is_ scared of Tigers, huh Shortpaw."

"But I never said that!" Wolfgang said sternly.

Fleetheart went back to sorting through the stuff she had found. "Looks like I win again."

"What contest? You say that every time we argue… not that yours make any sense."

He shot the medicine apprentice a sharp glance and huffed to himself. Shortpaw looked on, confused.

"You know, she does that just to irritate you," Littlescent said. "You've had to realize that by now."

He shook his head. "Forget it. I give up again. Keep your silly wins. Just wait until you hear that the best new warrior in StoneClan was trained not by a clan-born cat, but from a former kittypet. How's _that_ for a win?"

"Hmm, training doesn't sound brave and mighty to me," Fleetheart responded.

Wolfgang looked away briefly, then back at his apprentice. "So Shortpaw, I bet you can take down Fleetheart here and now. If you do, I'll recommend you to Sharptooth as a full-fledged warrior right away. You'd be the youngest, less than five moons. And fight right alongside me!"

Fleetheart again left her pile of objects and leaped towards Shortpaw. She crouched to her height and mockingly swiped at her. "I don't know. I always saw you as more of a Littlescent-type warrior."

Shortpaw looked at her in confusion. "What's a Littlescent-type warrior?"

"It's a warrior who's much better at hiding than fighting. But that's good because it makes that warrior better at finding stuff and staying undetected. Then there are the Heavyclaw-types. They can go paw-to-paw with a wildcat if they want, but they aren't very fast and can't hide. And there are the Wolfgang-types, who used to be kittypets. They're good at lots of things, and are most of our warriors. And then there's Panzers. They can fight the other warriors without even showing their claws, and probably win. But there's only one Panzer so far, and she's not here I guess."

The rest of the group looked blankly at Fleetheart, who looked like she was waiting for more questions. Wolfgang sat back and scratched behind his ear.

"Well whatever your… system says about her, Shortpaw's going to surpass us all at fighting, even me. I bet she'll even…" Wolfgang stopped and looked around the den, looking over Fleetheart and the pile of stuff, the back towards the entrance of the den. "With what I've been teaching her I bet she could beat the 'Panzer-type' right now."

"Hah, The Stars she _could_!"

Wolfgang hung his head and looked away as Panzer emerged from the closed entrance at the back of the den. "I bet I could take you _and_ that apprentice down at the same time. But maybe just you; at least Shortstuff over there's good at finding stuff. As for the rest of you, I can hear you form where I was with the entrance closed. You cats ever heard of the saying _schweigen_? It's Twoleg for 'quiet down'."

Fleetheart lowered her head. "Sorry. I didn't know you were still here."

"No thanks to Longstar, I'm always here. And I return to the den hearing about 'Panzer-types.' At least you were accurate with the descriptions. More than I can get out the mouse-brained Wolfpet over there. Thinks he can take me in a fight? Please."

Wolfgang lifted his head and got to his feet. "Give me a bit more credit than that. Wildcats _do_ run from me. And I bet I could hold my own against Longstar in a fight."

"Wildcat warriors better than you have tried _and_ failed to kill him during the war," Panzer hissed. "And their brains thought a lot like yours. Now I have proof you're a mouse-brain. If there were more cats in here, I'd tell them to spread the word. 'Wolfkit, the 'brave and mighty' mouse-cat.' Almost sounds natural, don't you think?"

"How much of this did you hear?" asked Littlescent.

"Enough for a day's worth of Fleetheart's company. But enough about her silly-named friends for now. Fleetheart, you're going to the meeting at moonhigh. I tried to go with you, but Longstar won't let me. Worth a shot, though. I'd love to take another swing at that Flyface and her mentor, Mousefoot I think. For using grass as medicine, it ought to be. You're in charge, so take whoever you want. I recommend taking Wolfkitty over there."

Fleetheart's tail fell to the floor and her ears shrieked back at the words. "I have to lead _again_? But I'm never that good at it."

Panzer moved towards the group. "It's a medicine cat's gathering. Of course you're leading. I'll be in the Stars eventually, so you better get used to it. Plus it's an easy one. Just get some cats, go talk to the others, yell at Flyfoot-face, and come back. A kit could do that." She looked at the others and snorted. "As for the rest of you, _schweigen_. That queen on the second floor is quieter than you."

Panzer picked up a roll of fake-fur in her mouth and padded towards the entrance. Before she left, she turned and glared at Shortpaw, who jumped to her feet with perked ears. She raised her head and whisked her tail side to side as she left the den.

Wolfgang licked his paw and began brushing it along his head. "Don't be afraid of her, Shortpaw. She's still _many_ moons older than you. She was just lucky cats can't smell anything in here with all this medicine stuff, or I would've been ready."

Fleetheart turned tail to Wolfgang. "Silly Wolfgang. You can't hide from Panzer-types. Everyone knows that."

"That's it! I've had enough. And it's not even dusk." Wolfgang briefly looked at Littlescent and then turned towards the entrance. "Come on, Shortpaw. We're volunteering for more patrols."

"But the light isn't even gone yet," she responded.

"That's the point. Warriors must be able to fight, under the sun or under the moon." He padded towards the exit, eyes fixed beyond it. "If we're lucky, we might even see a wildcat. We can mess him up if we're really lucky and he attacks, that'll show her…" He kept walking, mumbling to himself without looking back. Shortpaw looked to Fleetheart once more.

"Don't worry about your 'mentor'. You'll make a great warrior either way."

She nodded her head and darted out the entrance, leaving Littlescent and Fleetheart alone. Littlescent walked towards the large box Fleetheart moved towards.

"A Littlescent-type?"

"What? It's true." Fleetheart set her front paws on the rim of the box. "You're not the kind of warrior who goes in on wildcats, claws swinging and screeching to the Stars. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's got to be scary to see. But you don't, and that's why you watch them instead of fight them, which is also good… oh, and I want you on my patrol, obviously. Who else do you think I should take?"

"I don't know." Littlescent shook her head. "Panzer told me to stop giving you recommendations."

Fleetheart flopped to the ground at her words. "She's always everywhere with those ears… maybe I'll just keep it small this time. We keep taking Poule on our patrols for stuff, to teach him about escort. He's large, so he'll make a good fighter. Maybe I'll take Shortpaw along with him; teach the apprentices something about StarClan. I don't think they're learning enough about it."

Littlescent stretched, the mouse still lying in front of her. "Are you sure you should take both apprentices with just one warrior to back them up? What if a fight breaks out?"

The black and white cat closed her eyes. "What _if_ a fight breaks out. Ugh, I hate being in charge. I just want to heal. I should just take my normal patrol team. But they're always with me, and I want the apprentices to learn something… forget this for now, too frustrating. So what did you come down here for, anyway?"

Fleetheart took a roll of fake-fur in her teeth and walked further towards the back of the den. Littlescent stared up at the holes in the walls above her, the breeze blowing gently though them.

"I met a cat while on patrol," she said. "A wildcat."

The roll fell from Fleethearts mouth as she bounced right up to Littlescent, practically breathing on her, eyes wide and ears perked up. "You _talked_ to a wildcat? Outside of a gathering?"

"No, I…" Littlescent glanced towards the entrances of the den, watching for stray footsteps. "I caught him in our territory, looking for food."

"Ooh, a wildcat _tom_. What did he look like? Did he have long fur? Was he as big and scary as Heavyclaw? Wait, did he yell mean things at you? Where is he? I'll get my patrol group and we'll claw him up for you! Oh, and what's his name?"

The warrior shook her head. "Horsepelt, and there's no need to 'claw him up'. He didn't attack me."

"Oh… well then tell me about it. What happened? How'd you meet him? What did he _look like_?"

Littlescent again glanced at the entrance, waiting for cats to walk by before opening her mouth again. "Okay. He was large and had short fur and long whiskers. He looked like a half-wildcat though, since his pelt was brown. I ran into him wandering through the Upper Territory, near the occupied Twoleg nests."

"What was he doing there?" Fleetheart asked. "Panzer told me wildcats hate occupied Twoleg territory, even when they used to own it. Wait… could they be trying to get it back? I don't think so! Where's my patrol, I'll _—_ "

"Please keep it down." Littlescent anxiously glanced back at the entrance. "He said he was there on orders from Wolfstar to look for prey. After I ran into him he told me to hide from his patrol. They just attacked a pet _—_ "

"What? You mean the traveling pet? Longstar told us about her while you were asleep. Why not just go through our territory to get to BreezeClan that way? Probably less painful."

Littlescent took a deep breath, staring straight at Fleetheart; she took the hint. Her long tail quickly covered her mouth and drooped to the floor. After looking back at the entrance once more, she continued.

"Apparently, that part of the LeafClan territory had always gone unpatrolled, and is… was the fastest way to BreezeClan territory. His patrol had just attacked the pet, and then went to report to him. He told me to hide. They couldn't detect me with my cover and the wind. After his patrol left, we just talked. He told me he doesn't want to see the clans fighting, and even seems to agree with Yellowstar about the Twoleg war. He said he wants to see the clans being more cooperative. After we talked, he ran back to his territory. Then I finished my assignment and went back to Longstar… okay now you can ask questions."

Fleetheart sat, scratching her head with her tail. "Uh… I don't think I have anymore."

 _Oh sure,_ now _you have nothing to say._

"But you didn't report Horsepelt to Longstar yet, have you?" Fleetheart's tail wagged back and forth.

"I'm not sure that I'm ready to tell him yet. Cats around here take their actions against us personally. And even higher-ups like Heavyclaw and Sharptooth hate them. What would they think if they knew I had talked to one? While he was in _our_ territory at that. Looking for _our_ prey. With _his_ patrol harassing pets."

"Well with how many points you're making out of it, you should at least tell Longstar. I'm sure he'll understand. But you shouldn't just go talking to him without telling anyone. What if he was just after more information about the clan? We never told LeafClan our status other than 'we need new territory'."

Littlescent lowered her head and looked back at the entrance. _Talking so freely to a wildcat like that. Even if he was telling me about his clan, I told him about ours. What was I thinking on that one? I could've put the whole clan in danger by telling him stuff like that._

Fleetheart pawed at the ground, watching her friend think. "Look I didn't mean to go all Sharptooth-Panzer on you, but I think this is important. Maybe he does agree with how you and Longstar feel. I just think you should be more careful about something like this. Wildcats aren't known to play tricks, but just in case, learn more about his clan than you tell him about ours. And do it safe. Promise me that you'll at least do that, okay?"

Littlescent nodded her head in agreement.

"Perfect!" Fleetheart nuzzled her friend's cheek. "And you don't have to worry about me telling anyone. I wouldn't do that."

"Thanks… but I don't think I'll be _trying_ to run into him again."

"No, I never said that. Have faith in him; that's the best part about you. Just be careful about it. Plus, it's not like the wildcats know when they're being Littlescent-ed."

"That's not going to stick no matter how many times you say it."

"Littlescent-ed, Littlescent-ed, Littlescent-ed, Littlesc—"

"I'll leave you to your medicine then." The warrior nudged the larger cat away. "Wouldn't want to be here if Panzer comes back and sees all that stuff lying around."

Fleetheart leaped away from her friend. "Oh! I completely forgot. She'll come in and say 'Fleetheart, why is all this stuff still on the floor? You talk to those weird friends of yours too much. I'd better not see it again.' I'll see you later at the meeting."

Fleetheart bounced back towards the pile of stuff and began swiping it around. Littlescent quickly left through the entrance, expecting Panzer to return at any moment.

"And thanks for the mouse, Littlescent," she shouted back. "How did you know I was hungry?"

 _I didn't eat the… forget it. I'll just eat later._

The main floor was almost as it was when she first awoke. The warm light rays shining through the holes were gone; replaced with thin grey clouds. The floors were cool under her paws as she walked towards the steps to the upper levels. The smell of smoke soon flooded her nostrils. But as quickly as she covered her nose with her paw, the scent vanished. Littlescent looked around the area for a fire, watching the few cats nearby lounging around and poking at the fresh-kill pile. She curled her nose again as the scent returned.

Walking over to one of the lounging cats, she continued to look around for the source of the scent. "Is something nearby on fire?"

"I guess," a grey tom replied. "Longstar sent a group out to see what it was. He said it was probably another burning Twoleg nest."

Littlescent began walking up the steps to the second level.

 _I hate the smell of smoke. It always sticks to fur and never comes out with water… still I wonder how a fire could've started. The sky monsters haven't even attacked again, and I know they didn't come while I was asleep or I would've heard it… I just hope it doesn't keep burning much longer. Panzer says smoke does more to the insides of a cat than we really want to know._

She reached the top of the steps and nearly ran into Panzer as she turned the corner.

"Watch where you're going, Littlestep." Panzer spat. "You almost ran into me. Then I would've had to push you down those steps, and we wouldn't want that, at least _you_ wouldn't. Hey, are Fleetheart's weird friends out of the medicine den for a while, and that includes you?"

Littlescent ignored her comment. "Yeah. I'm going to see Longstar, and Wolfgang and Shortpaw went back out on another patrol."

"Oh good, maybe Shortthing will find some stuff while she's at it. And Longstar's up top this time." She began sniffing the air around her as she walked towards the steps. "Mouse-dung, smoke? Well, on the bright side, there's a small chance that Wolfbrain gets burned doing something stupid."

Panzer brushed past the senior warrior and made her way down the steps. "Oh it would be great for him to hobble back with a furless pink tail with the whole clan laughing at him, and his apprentice poking at it…"

 _Always glad to see her talks run short._

Littlescent looked towards the steps leading to the roof for any more passing cats, but just saw nothing in the dark hallway leading to it. She entered through, watching for the small holes around the steps. As she ascended, she curled her nose and held her breath as the smoke scent became stronger.

She bounded up the last few steps and emerged from the open entrance at the top of the nest, taking deep breaths as she looked at the thin grey cloud cover in full view.

"I'm guessing you came up here to avoid the smoke smell." The grey and black leader motioned Littlescent over with his tail from the opposite side of the roof. "It's not much better, but at least there are wind gusts for now."

As she walked over, she saw the pile of thundersticks with fake-claws at the end of them. Three of them were lined up at the holes in the broken guard ledges, almost half of the object sticking out in view of the ground below. A pile of large rocks and pieces of the nest itself lay in smaller piles scattered around the edges.

Longstar hopped up with both his front paws onto the guard edge and began scanning the area before him. Littlescent shook out her fur and let the cool gusts of wind blow through it. Then she caught what Longstar was staring at.

"How long has it been going," she asked.

He nodded towards the source. "I got up here and caught it flaring up, and left to tell Wolfgang with some other cats to check it out. I hope it's just a small part of a nest that already burned down. Having another fire spread in our territory is the last thing we need."

"But at least we're out of reach this time."

"This time." Longstar continued to look around in the sky, eyes quickly shifting around until he fixed his gaze towards a smoke plume in BreezeClan's direction. "There it is. The reason I came up here."

Littlescent glanced across the sky. "There what is?"

He didn't answer, but a low humming sound caught her attention. The low-flying source soon came into view. It had a long body with two long wings in the front and short ones in the rear. As it drew closer, Littlescent saw two rods sticking out the wings and the lone, spiraled nose.

"It's one of the _Achse's_ monsters." Littlescent looked closely at its tail, and found the 'X' shape with points coming out of each side, all facing to the right. Longstar lowered his head as the monster screeched over the structure next to their nest, a high-pitched whine blocking everything else. Littlescent's eyes stayed fixed on its white underbelly.

The single-nosed sky-monster pointed towards the clouds and quickly ascended, the details immediately out of view. Both cats curled their nose at the strong scent it left behind.

"I think that's the only scent I hate worse than smoke," Longstar said. "They may defend us, but those monsters literally make me sick on low passes up here. The smoke they produce is foul, even compared to fire-smoke."

"Yeah," she responded. "But I haven't seen a single-nosed monster that close since I was first up here."

"You were a kit then." Longstar stepped down from the ledge, wiping the ground with his paws.

"It was long before the sky-monsters started attacking. I think that's when Panzer took you up here to learn about monsters, and when she first taught you some Twoleg words. I never found any need for them, to be honest. But you and Fleetheart seemed to pick them up easily; I couldn't get past _achse_. I kept saying 'axes'. She probably laughed at me for having to use the simpler name."

"Yeah, that was back while I was still in training." Littlescent stepped down from the ledge began brushing her paw across her nose, but quickly jumped back on and shook her fur out at the cool gust of wind. "And that was back when times were good."

The black and grey leader shook his head. "I wouldn't say they're bad times now. Just more difficult times because of the wildcats… that's not right. I can't blame them from _all_ our problems."

He reared up and stretched, his tail swaying back and forth in the breeze before he lied down on the rough surface beneath him. "The Twolegs are responsible for most of our troubles. Things stopped going our way when those four-nosed sky-monsters started showing up. The _Achse_ must've made some powerful enemies at some point…"

Longstar faced the young, senior warrior. She faced him.

"I know you didn't come up here to hear me rant on about the clans again, but don't condemn LeafClan for what happened with the pet. I probably don't need to tell you that, though. You seem to be the only warrior who doesn't hate them. Tries to understand them instead. And that's defiantly your best trait."

Littlescent went back to staring out towards the smoke plume.

 _My best traits are sympathy and understanding, at least to Longstar. And Fleetheart thinks the same way of me. I guess I'm that easy to see through, but I was never good at lying… I guess I should tell him about it. Better me than another cat reporting it if it happens again._

"So you like how I don't hate the wildcats?" Littlescent asked.

The leader nodded his head. "If you were grown while Bonbon was still alive, she probably would've made you leader over me. She would've liked your peaceful intentions, even though she hated mine when I acquired them."

Longstar stretched to his feet and arched his back. "Well, leaders have short breaks. I should probably head back down. If you need me again, I'll be in the main den until Sharptooth wakes up. If you see any cats coming up, tell them to throw the fake-clawed thundersticks in the pile."

"I met with one of the wildcats." The warrior said.

Longstar stopped walking towards the exit. He turned his head back and looked at Littlescent. She stepped down from the ledge and sat where she was, trying to keep their eyes from meeting.

"I didn't think to hear that so soon, but I expected nothing less," Longstar said. "You and this cat probably have better relations than me and Wolfstar. But I'd like to hear about it right away next time. Just ask to speak to me alone."

He padded towards the steps, staring around the sky once more before he disappeared through the entrance. Littlescent looked in his direction once he left. Her eye caught the faintest dot against the light behind another Twoleg nest. She kept staring at it until it came close enough to see it as another single-nosed sky-monster.

 _He took that better than I thought. I'll have to thank Fleetheart later for encouraging me to do that. Who knows, maybe we_ can _get Wolfstar in on this. It would make talks much easier if the wildcats had an ally in our clan._

The yellow-nosed monster passed further away from her, the sound of its loud cry piercing Littlescent's ears before it continued its course over the fields. She gagged and blew her nose vigorously as the scent of the monster rained down from overhead. She ran towards the side of the wall facing the trees in LeafClan's territory.

 _That_ is _even worse than smoke._

When her fit was over, she hopped up on the ledge and looked at the few cats below. She saw her black and white friend bouncing to the other side of the building. When she looked up, Fleetheart reared up and clawed at the air a few times. Littlescent just stared at her as she continued towards her destination.

 _The attacks have been increasingly violent. Longstar's right. There is absolutely_ nothing _good about the sky-monster, except for the Achse. They try to protect us from the four-nosed ones… I bet they're massive up close, even bigger than a Twoleg nest. And if I see one up that close, it has to be dying, because they never come low like the one and two-nosed monsters do._

 _But as long as that crossed symbol is around, I'll know the Achse still have control over this place. And it's all I need to know you're still watching over us up there. LeafClan may be a thorn now, but they aren't a threat. My talk with Horsepelt was enough to convince me. I know he honestly doesn't want to see us fight. Eventually, his clan will agree. They'll agree when the sky-monsters hit harder than they ever have… I hope they don't though. And I don't think they can ever hit as hard as they already have._

 _Please just worry about us a little extra this time. We need help that only StarClan can give. LeafClan needs it just as bad as us. At this meeting, just give us a sign that we're still under you're protection. I've never actually seen signs from the Stars before, or had any of you walk in my dreams. But I know you're probably just waiting for the right time to guide us out of these border arguments, these constant attacks, this destruction. And especially this whole ugly Twoleg war._


	9. Chapter 8

Littlescent stepped out into the bright night sky. She shook her fur through the faint breeze and looked up at the stars expecting to find a crescent moon, only to find many beams of light panning back and forth across her view. She knew what they were searching for.

"It still smells like smoke out here," Littlescent said.

"It's only a little," Fleetheart responded. "I swear you're the only one in the whole clan who hasn't gotten used to that smell."

"Well that doesn't sound like you."

"Sorry. It's just that leading always makes me anxious."

Littlescent walked next to her and sat on the rough ground near the thunderpath. "We're just meeting with the other medicine cats. You do this every moon. And no one ever gets hurt."

"But not alone," Fleetheart responded. "And I was in the medicine den thinking about all that's happened with the wildcats. Then there was who to take. My patrol would've been an easy choice, but then I wanted my friends to go with me and the apprentices to come and learn and Panzer tried to sneak onto my list and the queen attacked me… long story short it's just the two of us on this one."

Littlescent's ears perked. "Really? Just us?"

"Well, yeah. I couldn't decide. And then Panzer gave me an idea." Fleetheart curled her face and hunched over. "Why not take your rat-brained friend," she said in a deep voice. "At least if you get attacked, she keeps swinging until she's down. Plenty of time for you to run, something claw-swingers never think to do in a fight... except for that little runt one you like."

She shook, the curls quickly leaving her face. "Wow her face is tough… anyway, and I said 'Great idea!' And here we are. Now if anyone gets hurt it's just us, you see."

The two walked along the large thunderpath that bordered the two rival clans, carefully staying close to their own side of it. They slipped past the cross section and into open territory, technically claimed by LeafClan. The border reeked of the fresh scent of LeafClan marking teams. Fleetheart looked around as they crossed the thunderpath towards the snake-monster's path.

"Yeah I know, not the best plan, but you know how much I hate being in charge of large groups. At least my patrol was pre-made of experienced warriors. What happens when I have to bring apprentices outside of the borders? I always hate seeing cats get hurt, especially when I'm the one giving the orders."

"Well that's where I come in and defend them," Littlescent responded. "That's why you bring more warriors along."

The apprentice nodded her head. "Yeah. But still, it's kind of like treating my own injuries if they get hurt while I'm in charge… you're brave like that. Being in charge? I'm sure it wouldn't matter to you because you'd make a great leader. Oh, you could even be the next clan leader! It would suit you well, Littlestar the Scentless."

 _Littlestar the Scentless,_ she thought. _I already live up to the 'scentless' part. But the 'star'? I don't think it's for someone like me._

Littlescent looked ahead, checking the upcoming foliage for other creatures. Across the snake-monster tracks were the intact Twoleg structures. She looked back at the lights that hovered over the area, panning back and forth through the sky in search of more attackers.

Fleetheart swiped at her tail. "Hey, you sure do look at the sky a lot. Are you looking for sky monsters? Because if there were any, the _Achse_ will find them. Assuming they get reinforcements. Our Twoleg warriors don't seem to be doing a very good job."

"Reinforcements? From where?" She danced her tail around, making Fleetheart more interested.

"Well, she showed me something that she said she threw away when she first left her owner's nest, but I knew she didn't. And it turns out she actually did keep her collar. I knew it! Then she reminded me where she comes from. A faraway land that is only possible to get to on a sky-monster! She said it was much like _Hamburg_ , but there was lots more snow."

Littlescent looked around at spaces large enough to hide a cat before continuing.

"So there are other Twolegplaces as big as this one?" Littlescent asked.

Fleetheart shook her head. "She also said that you should start calling this place by its true name. And she said that it's much like this place because Twolegs were always fighting there, too. She said she hated it, and so did her owner. They left before it got worse. Who knows what it looks like now."

 _I never would have guessed Panzer had seen a place like this, even when so far away from here. I wonder why she only tells Fleetheart these things…_

"Is that why she's so quick to hate cat fighting… although, you wouldn't know it from how she acts"

"Maybe. But I always wonder how she's picked up so much on Twoleg things. I know she's old, but she even learned the medicine they use! Still surprises me. She probably knows more about them than the war dogs that used to be around… hey, why haven't we seen any wildcats yet?"

Littlescent glanced across the snake-monster's path, intersecting with the normal thunderpath. "They're probably around. We're upwind, anyway. If they're here I'd be hard to find them through this breeze. That smoke scent doesn't help either."

The two cats kept walking, Fleetheart losing interest in her friend's tail. "Aw come on. We're so far away from that stuff. Don't tell me you can _still_ smell it?"

Littlescent shook her fur again. "It sticks, and it'll be there until next sunhigh, I bet."

Fleetheart reached her tail over and began poking her gray and white friend. "It's been around since we were kits. You have to get used to it eventually."

She continued tapping on her friend's flank with her tail. Littlescent ignored it, watching for movements as the pair crossed the snake-monster tracks and weaved around the silverthorn barrier. They ended in a large clearing on stone ground. In the center was the same meeting area where the clans held their gatherings.

They ran across the circular thunderpath and up to the raised area in the center. Tall trees blocked their view of the inside, but both cats still detected the wilcats, being so close to them. The two leaped into the enclosed area and crawled through the bushes, exposing the bright rock in the center. Only then did Fleetheart stop poking her friend.

"So what was the point in poking me?" Littlescent asked.

"Eh," Fleetheart responded, "I don't know. It was fun."

Littlescent raised her nose and began sniffing around for other cats. She stopped to shake her fur briefly before continuing her search, looking to her right to see that Fleetheart had reared up onto the rock.

"Well then I'm going to poke you all the way back to camp."

The apprentice turned back towards Littlescent.

"That'd just be weird." And she leaped onto the rock.

 _Of course it would,_ Littlescent through, leaping onto the rock herself.

From her new spot, the stars were visible to her for the first time that night, unblocked by thin hazes and clouds. The thick trees occasionally parted to show her more and more of the sky, unobstructed by the Twoleg's search lights.

She walked to Fleetheart's side, looking first at the familiar bright pelts of Whitetail and Yellowstar, and the dark-tinted Blueclaw. Whitetail nodded at her once he met her gaze, and then looked back at the group of LeafClan cats.

A wildcat warrior sat at the side of an old gray and black striped wildcat. Her bristly tail was curled around her legs, completely covering her front paws. Her small ears constantly twitched, the wind revealing some small, thinning areas of her pelt.

"Where's Panzer," she asked. "Looked forward to seeing her."

"Sorry, Mousetail. She couldn't make it," Fleetheart responded. "So Longstar sent me instead. Fleetheart, at you service!"

"So old blue one died?" A large, white wildcat responded. Flyfoot had turned her attention back from the search lights in the distance.

"Of course not! She's just not coming this time. I'm sure she'll show up next time." Fleetheart twitched her tail across the wildcat apprentice's vision.

"Shame. I had choice words for her. Still not letting her get away with what she said about us."

"Anyway, sorry about her words." Fleetheart lowered her head. "Panzer just likes to say what's on her mind, to be honest."

"I want to hear her say it, hyper one. No honesty in her words. Not a bit."

Another wildcat poked his head over the edge of the rock, motioning to the one at Mousetail's side.

"Area clear. No other cats," he said.

"Thank you. But I still think it not necessary," Mousetail responded. The wildcat at her side jumped down from the rock with the other one, leaving Mousetail and Flyfoot by themselves.

Flyfoot turned her red eyes towards Littlescent, examining her undersized figure.

"So Longstar only sent _one_ warrior? And the small, scentless one at that." She cringed her tail at her last statement.

"Flyfoot, we here to learn," Mousetail scolded. "These cats not Panzer. Save anger for her, if you want."

Littlescent's ears perked up to the sound of rustling plants, too loud to be wind. She turned around and peered into the green eyes of a wildcat, standing on the ground near the rock. He quickly turned away and darted into the grass from where they first entered.

"Don't mind them," Mousetail said. "Wolfstar sent them. Thought there would be more warriors from your clan. Said he wouldn't take chances. There eight of them hiding here. They not listening to us."

"Longstar would never ambush lone medicine cats," Fleetheart responded. "I don't even think Panzer would do something like that."

"Sorry, apprentice. It's just normal patrol for us." The LeafClan medicine cat turned her attention back towards the others. "We lost cats to ground-shakers recently, so Wolfstar defends borders more aggressive. Doesn't want to show clan's pain to others."

"That is actually what I wanted to discuss." Yellowstar held her head up and looked at Mousetail. "But first, your clan has begun large patrols in three different borders this moon. We are now concerned about our clan's ability to allow sanctuary to pets in the deeper areas of the more habited—"

The low roar of a blurred shadow interrupted as it flew over the rock. The cats were only able to see the sky-monster's silhouette, a small single-nosed one, as it flew overhead. A gust of wind blew in the opposite direction as it flew off towards the lights.

The cats paused, waiting for the alert from the Twolegs that it was an attacker. But the high-pitched wails never came.

Fleetheart decided to break the silence. "Must be another _Achse_ monster. It could be trying to look at the damage from the fires earlier today."

"I do not think they see at night as well as we do," Blueclaw responded. "Both of us knew how dangerous that place has become, first paw. Take it from us; you do _not_ want to be a pet in that area right now. Owners leave without warning. Many of the pets have already been killed by sky-monsters. Roaming this place alone, they will share the same fate at the paws of rouges, Twoleg dogs, or the _Achse_ warriors themselves."

The lingering cries of two more sky-monsters could be heard overhead, this time much further up. The cats stopped briefly to try and find them, but couldn't see them.

"Concerns justified, Blueclaw," Mousetail responded. "Territory hasn't expanded. We only patrolling territory we owned since Pact. Never needed to watch it before. But now food scarce, too many cats, fire-faller attacks ruining everything."

"Patrolling it is one thing." Yellowstar shook her fur through the light gust of wind before continuing. "But StoneClan reports that LeafClan warriors have been attacking pets on sight. One area you have begun patrolling near the still occupied Twoleg dens has been a safe route for pets to take to the edge of StoneClan territory. Moving through your territory kept the rouges and strays away from them, without a Twoleg in sight."

The LeafClan medicine cat looked away from the group. "Kittypets will not enter that territory again. Last moonhigh made sure of that. Makes you feel any better, Wolfstar punished cats that attacked pet without warning. Won't see them again, either."

Flyfoot moved her head closer inward. "If you want the kittypets again, go get them yourself. Not like you have territory to defend, anyway."

"We are unable to make move deeper in at this time," Whitetail started. "Our numbers are few and our warriors are still mostly pets who have no real experience. Only four of us, as it stands now, are clan-born, and we are expecting no kits. The rouges greatly outnumber us."

"Oh, we could help you with that!" Fleetheart bounced to her paws and stared straight at the bright orange cat. Littlescent waited for her to continue for a moment, and then spoke herself.

"We own territory that goes straight from the occupied Twoleg dens to your current territory. And I've only found a few rouges running around searching for food. I bet Longstar wouldn't mind it at all."

"I was going to suggest that next." Fleetheart sat as Yellowstar stared off at the search lights in the distance. "We want the pets to be safe, and we need our numbers to rise if BreezeClan is to remain relevant. But most importantly, the wishes of StarClan must be honored. They would never want us to abandon a cat in danger; rouge, clan cat, or pet.

Yellowstar turned back towards the group. "What I propose is a guarded escort of the pets from their Twoleg nests. All of them. StoneClan cats would create a safe route with their presence all the way through their territory. Our warriors will help, of course, but it is the numbers and experience of the StoneClan warriors we need to ward off the rouges and other possible obstacles. That way, we can still save the pets without disrupting LeafClan."

Littlescent looked at Fleetheart, who nodded in agreement to the idea. But she was more concerned with the others. She stared at the LeafClan medicine cat, her apprentice scowling at her.

Mousetail shook her head at her, and turned to address the others.

"Noble idea Yellowstar. I remember you say you had this message from Stars many moons before their silence. But not good for us. Food scarce. We hunting things that normally hunt the small stuff themselves. The grass area near StoneClan old camp is still our unpatrolled territory."

Mousetail looked around the area, watching bushes lurch around from the wildcats below. "Even now, our warriors hunt. It's our best hunting ground now. Plenty of small stuff to kill, but not enough for entire clan. Adding to BreezeClan now only make it harder to hunt."

"We will honor the Pact, as we always have," Yellowstar replied. "We will not hunt in your territory. We are only concerned with seeing the safety of the pets."

"Kittypets add to _our_ problem." Flyfoot hopped to her paws, her teeth barely showing as she angrily glared at the others.

"Save kittypets, more cats. More cats nearby, less prey. Border regions near stone cat territory empty when they moved closer. Twoleg nests in our camp hunted clean. Now you ask us to let more cats into the last good hunting area we have left? Our clan too large. We could starve easy if amount of prey drops again. That mean anything to you cats? Why do the other clans get more prey with less, smaller cats to feed?"

Fleetheart's ears fell back and her tail hung motionless over the edge of the rock as she nervously met her gaze.

"I'm… I'm sure we can work something out with the whole food thing. There's—"

"No!" Flyfoot spat. "We _not_ take from other clans, we get our own!"

"Enough, Flyfoot. Stay silent." Mousetail motioned with her tail for her to sit. She did so, continuing to bear her teeth at Fleetheart.

"Wolfstar would never allow us to take from other clans. Imagine that, telling wildcats another clan must feed them."

Mousetail's ears perked up at a deep rumble over the city. The cats looked towards the bright search lights again as they panned the sky franticly searching. Another rumble rang out before the sirens began screeching their warning to the cats. The warriors around them froze, all of them yelping out their positions.

"Littlescent," Fleetheart whispered.

"No," she answered. "We should stay here and finish talking to Yellowstar."

"But what about Longstar's rule?"

"Look at the sky," Littlescent responded. "Listen to the thundersticks. They aren't the four-nosed monsters that normally attack. It must be the fast two-nosed ones again."

The cats sat back and listened for deeper rumbles, the ones they only heard when the monsters hit back. The thundersticks tore at the sky over and over, seeming to hit nothing.

A high-pitched noise took the groups attention over the outskirts. The sound quickly drew closer and louder; the monster made a sound like a cat screaming in pain. And as quickly as it came, it left in the direction towards the lights. A loud crack went with it, kicking up a cloud of dust through the stone it pulverized.

"Those sounds are not from the four-nosed ones," Yellowstar said, shaking out her fur and coming to her senses. "We have almost nothing to fear with the two-nosed ones. Just something to be annoyed about, with these sirens and all."

Fleetheart shifted around in the breeze and looked towards Littlescent. "Alright, we'll stay, if you say it's safe."

"You should listen to kit-sized one, apprentice," Flyfoot said. "She clearly know more about fire-fallers than you."

"Well then, should we get back to our agreement?" Yellowstar turned to address the LeafClan wildcats.

"We have to get the pets out of there, it is our duty. StarClan would not want us to abandon them, and we should not wait on them to act. I am sorry this possible arrangement inconveniences LeafClan, but it is what we must do. And after it is done, we are willing to assist your clan with _all_ available resources. I can promise you that."

Whitetail looked at Yellowstar, who kept her sincere gaze on Mousetail, ignoring Flyfoot's scowl. He looked at the lights off in the distance, watching the thundersticks aimlessly firing into the night sky.

 _I know you're concerned. You just want to see everyone safe, just like me… I want to agree with her, I really do. But…_

Mousetail glanced back towards the lights as the siren's wail reached the high point, her ears cringing back as she turned her attention back towards the others. "Fire-fallers will ruin us all," she whispered.

Turning to address the BreezeClan medicine cat once more, she motioned with her tail for her gray-striped apprentice to remain silent. "Yellowstar, have you ignored what I said? Your intentions good-hearted. But it only hurt us. Other cats killing prey, monsters killing prey… monsters killing cats, too. Less than yours, but they still do."

Mousetail straightened her posture, addressing all of the cats.

"I not speak for Wolfstar, but he'll say this anyway when I tell him. We won't interfere. But we'll not wait while clan suffers. There kits in our clan, at least five litters, and more coming. Warriors will go thin, queens will starve, kits will die. They're hungry, angry, and there's nothing we can do. We need warriors for defense. The sky is against us. Stars are silent now. But we not need them to prevent our own destruction… remember last prophecy Stars sent us…"

She glared at Yellowstar, who was interpreting her response. The wind picked up again as the sirens continued to wail. Flyfoot looked towards Littlescent, beaming with pride, rather than scorn, at her mentor's words.

"Well I pray it will never come to that," Yellowstar responded. "Never again. I still intend on helping both groups of cats, yours and the pets. It was StarClan's will, and always will be, so it will be ours as well. Your prophecy from so many moons ago will never come true."

The siren's howls continued in the distance, the wind gust becoming even harsher. The StoneClan pair split their attention between Yellowstar and Mousetail's standoff and the search lights in the distance. The two continued to stare each other down with no concern for the battle above.

Whitetail looked into his leader's eyes and saw her unyielding resolve. He knew she was no longer trying to reason with their clan; now she was telling her what was going to happen in good intention. Flyfoot glanced at her thin mentor, some of her bones pressed against her pelt. She scoffed at Yellowstar's mostly full figure.

Littlescent's ears perked up as the grinding sound returned. Her eyes searched for the source once her ears were quickly rendered useless by the distant screeching and the massive wind gust.

"Incoming!" she shouted.

An intense snap finally broke the two cat's glares; mud and dust quickly filled the area of the blast, a gust of wind carrying it towards them.

The cats looked around at each other, waiting to see what the other would do. Another snap hit the tall grass this time, tossing the large yellow stocks into the air as one of the lights revealed the source.

Littlescent looked at the dark-colored monster fly by, two bright dots on each side of its two noses. The light aggressively followed it, and once it flew out of her sight, loud blasts from the thundersticks below, attempting to blow it out of the sky.

One of the wildcats reared up onto the rock, poking his head in view of the others. "That one just tree's length away from us. Should we go?"

Flyfoot looked at her mentor, waiting for a reply. Moustail looked towards the BreezeClan cats once more.

"We part ways now. More dangerous than I thought. But take care not to forget what I said. Wolftar is no longer ruled by silent StarClan as we are."

She turned and hopped off the rock; Flyfoot narrowed her eyes and hissed at Littlescent before following; she could barely hear it over the sirens.

Thundersticks continued to shake the sky. Fleetheart was nervous from the two close strikes, gesturing to Littlescent that she wanted to leave. Blueclaw looked through the surrounding trees, and the other two looked at the young StoneClan cats.

"The LeafClan warriors are gone," she said. "Should we leave as well?"

Yellowstar stared at the distant battle, watching the sky for the monsters. "We have LeafClan's answer. Now we need StoneClan's. I want to speak to Longstar. Can you take me to him?"

"Yeah," Littlescent replied. "He'd probably want to hear this."

"Finally!" Fleetheart hopped off the rock. "Let's get out of here, before the sky-monsters kill us. We'll wait at the end of the silverthorns" Littlescent followed her off the rock, leaving Yellowstar's group alone.

"Blueclaw, go back to camp with Whitetail. Make sure the other cats know our intentions. I have no doubt that Longstar will aid us."

Whitetail nodded and the pair hopped off the rock. Yellowstar took one last look at the fighting.

"The final words of the Stars were of total destruction," she said. "I pray this decision does not cost more lives than it saves."


	10. Chapter 9

The faint scent of the battle above lingered in the air as the cats entered the front entrance to the camp. Fleetheart looked through the hole in the wall far above the steps. The search lights still blocked her view of the crescent moon.

The sirens had stopped wailing and the thundersticks had ceased their attack. The main floor was busy with cats darting in and out of camp, making up for lost time. The fresh kill piles were small, and only offered mice and rats as usual. At the back entrance near the medicine den, two cats dragged in a thunderstick with a fake-claw attached to the front. Yellowstar pulled her head back when it came into view.

Fleetheart waved her tail at the other medicine cat. "Littlescent should've already told the others about your visit, so let's just go to Longstar's den."

Yellowstar looked at the thunderstick. She noticed it was not shiny like the others, but dulled and covered in dark spots.

"So I see Bonbon's influence on Sharptooth is still strong. I never liked her battle tactics. They are far too efficient at killing, with no capture possible."

"Me neither," Fleetheart responded. "He always goes 'just in case' whenever Longstar says they have enough. Sometimes I think he won't have enough until he has one to drop on every wildcat. And if you think that's bad, we have some who are trying to learn how they work. 'Just in case' he says."

Yellowstar quickly walked away from it. "Wielding the power of lightning is something I believe no cat should, or could, control. I have always instructed my clan to stay away from them."

The cats in the camp began to take notice of the bright orange cat against all the greys and browns around the camp. Many of them stared at Yellowstar when she walked near them. Some dipped their heads in respect.

"No offense intended but this place seems kind of… bleak," Yellowstar whispered.

Fleetheart's ears perked up. "Oh, none taken at all. It's the only Twoleg nest around that doesn't look like it'll fall over or is completely hollowed out from the sky monsters… doesn't help that we're mostly grey and brown cats. But don't worry. We have the blue Panzer to keep our spirits high!"

A cat walked down the steps towards the pair, while a brown and white tabby stayed halfway down them, looking at them.

"There's Sharptooth. Hi, Sharptooth," she shouted as she waved at him with her tail.

The old leader sighed.

"I look forward to Panzer's impending rant about using the medicine of our ancestors to heal my cats."

"All I'm saying is why grass? There's better."

The entrance was mostly closed, the hole in the wall offering all the light the cats would need. Longstar was sitting across from Yellowstar, Sharptooth and Panzer sat at each side of him, Panzer waving her paw in Yellowstar's direction. Littlescent sat staring out the hole, ignoring the argument along with the rest of the cats.

"This stuff's proven. It works a whole lot better than leaves and weeds," Panzer said, jabbing her paw in the BreezeClan leader's direction.

"It is not 'leaves and weeds'," Yellowstar said. "They are potent herbs that treat a multitude of illnesses and injuries—"

"Better description, 'it tries _and_ fails'," Panzer hissed. "I've offered some of this stuff every moon and you never take it. Thought you breeze cats were supposed to be the smartest of us."

Yellowstar shook her head. "Our Stars provide us with the herbs we use. The techniques are of our ancestors, yours and mine. This 'stuff' you use can poison a cat if not used correctly."

"That's why you use it correctly," Panzer said. "I've been healing cats with this stuff before your clan ever existed. _You_ were probably one of my patients during the war. Maybe you did something stupid, like trying to use the medicine yourself in a vain effort—"

"I would prefer to get along with this _very_ urgent meeting. It could potentially mean—"

"It could potentially mean I was right because you want to end the argument? Ah, who am I kidding? There was no argument to begin with."

Yellowstar tried to narrow her eyes at the older medicine cat, but it was no use. Panzer just stared right back at her, unmoved and unimpressed. Yellowstar just looked away after a while.

"Don't question me, orange one. Twice your age, twice your knowledge with medicine, and twice your brain power. Probably twice your strength, too, and twice your field experience. And obviously, twice your amount of saved cats!"

"Enough Panzer," Longstar said, tired of the argument. "We didn't come here to insult our guest, and a leader at that. Try to show a little respect."

"A _little_ ," Panzer responded.

Longstar glanced at the rest of the group, regaining their attention.

"Alright then," he said. "I've been made aware of a plan to evacuate all the pets from the inner part of this place, beyond our Upper Territories. This in response to LeafClan cutting off the only safe escape route they normally have."

Yellowstar glanced across the entire group. Longstar motioned for her to speak.

"There are many cats still living in the unsafe area beyond your territory. Their only safe escape route, through a previously unpatrolled part of LeafClan territory, is now occupied and dangerous, in light of a recent incident at the border. After speaking to Mousetail earlier tonight is safe to say Wolfstar will have no pets move through his territory.

"Your Upper Territories are patrolled by LeafClan cats on occasion. I feel a dangerous incident may occur if we were to move them in plain sight of the wildcats. They could feel we are challenging their leader's authority and fulfilling the prophecy they received before the war between your clans so many moons ago. For them, that could be worth another war, especially since they now outnumber our clans two to one, at least.

"That is where StoneClan comes in. The only way for them to reach our camp now is to move through your Lower Territories, now occupied by Burn's rouges. We have only four warriors who are ready for combat, and he would certainly drive us out. But he would never stand against your clan. With your help, we can fend his rouges off and save every last pet."

The other cats began whispering amongst themselves, exchanging glances with each other.

Fleetheart turned towards Littlescent. "Sounds like they like it," she whispered. "I knew they wouldn't turn down a cat in danger."

Littlescent looked out the hole in the wall behind her, concerned on what more Panzer would have to say about her plan.

"Okay," Longstar started. "Say we agree to this and it _does_ work, where does that leave both our clans with LeafClan?"

Yellowstar addressed everyone. "Assuming everything goes as planned, the relations between our clans will remain unchanged."

"Hah! So the Stars took your eyes, again." Panzer said, stretching her back. "From what Littlething over there told me, things weren't all moonlight and flowers at the meeting. You basically told Mousecat you don't care what her clan thinks. You're just going to do it anyway. Didn't seem to make that wild apprentice of hers too happy when you said you would help her clan hunt."

The BreezeClan leader faced Panzer. "While Flyfoot did seem a bit hostile towards my intentions, Mousetail said she would speak to Wolfstar about them.."

"She also probably told you that he wouldn't listen," Panzer responded. "That's true, he won't. Take it from me. I know him, his personality. To him, you are a small clan of roaming cats who takes orders from the absent Stars. Your actions insult him."

"They may be silent now, but the last message I received from them was clear. We cannot just abandon—"

"And when was the last time you got _any_ sign from the Stars?" Panzer stared hard at Yellowstar. "Some of our cats here haven't even been alive to hear from them. Over eight seasons I think."

Yellowstar hesitated, trying to remember her last conversation. "It was after the time I took my oath as BreezeClan's leader."

"We were still _at war_ with the wildcats then. Your whole idea of playing 'savior' to a bunch of kittypets is based on a message that you heard before the sky-monsters were _ever_ a problem."

"I am not trying to play 'savior'," Yellowstar scoffed. "I am trying to rescue cats in danger. And just because the message was received some time ago does not make it any less true. StarClan cats do not speak lies."

"They haven't been speaking much of anything recently," Panzer said. "And that should be bothering your zealot clan more than it bothers me."

"It does. Nonetheless I have my instructions. And it is about time I carried them out. The will of StarClan must be done."

Panzer shook her head and glanced at Longstar. "Just send her and her little star-brained ideas of running a clan on their way. I don't like it, and I don't support it." Yellowstar's eyes were fixed on the StoneClan leader; he remained motionless, waiting for others to speak.

"Yellowstar," Sharptooth started. "How exactly do you want our help with this plan of yours?"

Her eyes were still on Longstar. "I figure I send a patrol of my cats to alert the pets of their chance to leave the inner areas. You would have a large group of warriors throughout your Lower Territories, intimidating the rouges long enough to allow them to get to us."

"And what of the cats after that?" Sharptooth continued. "How will you care any injured who want to come? And what of the cats who refuse clan life? More importantly, what's stopping the rouges or wildcats from raiding your camp for food when it's full of useless kittypets?"

Yellowstar appeared confident. "I doubt the rouges or LeafClan will attack our clan after the process is complete. However, I am prepared to call upon your clan's support for protection. The cats who refuse clan life will not be compelled to stay, and can leave whenever they want."

"Okay, what about food?" he said. "That's pretty important. I know your clan is struggling with that, and a swell to your numbers could do more harm than good."

She looked away. "Well, I hate to call on you for so much support but… your Lower Territory makes prime hunting ground when the rouges are—"

"Oh _don't_ even think," Panzer hissed. "You stop there. You will bring in as many cats as we have, more than _five times_ your clan size! They'll hunt it clean. The kittypets would ruin all of us."

"Panzer, please just try to show some respect," said Longstar, watching the blue-coated cat brush herself with her paws.

"No way," she responded. "There's hardly enough mice and rats around to feed all our cats. We save your kittypets. We feed your kittypets. We protect your kittypets. We have _lost_ territory _and_ cats in the past few moons. You have a nice view of the ruins of our old camp from your current one if I'm not mistaken."

Yellowstar was anxious now, glaring at Panzer. "We are talking about cats in danger here. With your aid, we can have this whole situation finished by—"

"I expected better from you," Panzer hissed. "To think you came here to offer us a paw in some broken little rescue attempt influenced by an old 'hero' order from the Stars who haven't spoken to our 'most faithful little she-cat' and her clan of brainless tail-chasers since Twolegs started dropping fire on us!"

"That's enough, Panzer," Longstar said, staring straight at the old she-cat. The others continued to look on as the meeting broke down. "Just try to—"

"Do _not_ question my following of a direct order from StarClan," Yellowstar hissed at Panzer. "We all take our orders directly from them, and they have never misguided us before."

Panzer shook her head. "Please. You're in a completely different territory with _that_ kind of logic if you think a bunch of silent dots hold power over everything. Last I checked the sky-monsters attack when the Stars are at their brightest."

Yellowstar's eyes went wide. "How… how dare you insult—"

"How dare I? More like how dare _you_! Wanting to put your tiny clan at risk with something foolish like this."

The leader's paw slammed onto the floor. "We are ready to move on to StarClan itself if means obeying their wishes and saving lives. We will never let one of their orders go unfinished, no matter how old."

"Right, and while you sit over there in your little dream the rest of the clans are off trying to survive _without_ the help of the Stars." Panzer whisked her tail back and forth.

"Only reason BreezeClan still exists right now is because it's small and can leave its territory. We have nothing behind us, wildcats ahead of us, and monsters above us. Things aren't so good right now, and you of all cats should know that."

"Our duty must first come from the Stars, then to ourselves."

Panzer's eyes went wide. "Are you… it's like you're ignoring everything around you! You know what? You've just made my list of cats who _are_ that dumb."

The BreezeClan leader narrowed her eyes. "Am I supposed to care about your opinions?"

Panzer returned Yellowstar's glare. "For a medicine cat _and_ a leader, you're pretty stupid. Healer to healer, it's generally not a good idea to lead your patients to early deaths. Then again, you've been doing it with those weeds and flowers you call medicine. But who am I to judge the methods of our ancestors, right?"

"That's it," Longstar said glaring straight at Panzer. "We clearly have your opinion, so please wait outside. This is turning into a pointless argument. We will consider your points while we—"

"Yeah, yeah, no need for the speech." She stood, stretching as she made her way to the entrance.

"I'll just leave. Speak up, young ones. If any of you have _half_ a brain you'd reject this suicide plan and send the blind Star-chaser on her way."

Panzer stared right back at Longstar, unmoved by his own disapproval. As he looked away at Yellowstar, she left through the entrance, out of the view of the group.

Yellowstar looked out the hole in the wall and away from the entrance, taking a deep breath as she shook out her fur.

"Such a disruptive one. From what I hear, she would be the last one to abandon cats in need… well then shall we continue with our meeting?"

"Yes," Longstar responded. "But… Panzer made some valid points, Yellowstar. They must be considered."

Her eyes widened. "What? But she was not even thinking about the Stars or the well-being of the pets at all! She would rather see them die than involve your clan in this."

"Well, not exactly," Fleetheart started. "I'm around her all the time. She seems all harsh and mean on the outside, but the last thing she wants to see are StoneClan cats getting hurt. She's probably afraid that the plan will go wrong somehow."

Littlescent glanced around the room at her clanmates, all who seemed to be against Yellowstar and her plan. _This isn't right. Her plan has great intentions. It just needs to be presented better_.

"Further," Fleetheart continued. "We don't know exactly how the wildcats will react to this. Panzer always warns me about them. And earlier, at the meeting, I really saw a reason to be worried. For the first time, I was actually scared of what they might do to us. Mousetail is gentle enough but, from what I keep hearing from Panzer and our warriors, the rest of them aren't."

"Well said, young one," Sharptooth said. "Yellowstar, your plan makes sense. Adding cats to our clans would be a wise move. One litter of kits isn't exactly desirable. And from what I hear, your clan has no queens. But to do so at this moment… the wildcats are already agitated and hungry. It's only a matter of time before they come over and start hunting our territory in force.

"If what Mousetail says is true, then they've pretty much hunted everything that isn't our territory. Just as Panzer said, we can't go back but there is no forward. We must protect what we have without risking any more than we have to. For all we know, our camp could be destroyed by sky-monsters again."

"And such an attack could bring about the death of countless pets." Yellowstar glared at Sharptooth. "Cats that could have been saved."

"Along with the death of many of our warriors," he said. "I don't think you understand what has to be done to go through with your plan. The rouges will _not_ back down unless we literally line their path with warriors. Otherwise they could wander off, be ambushed, get killed by debris, or even other strays. Worse, the wildcats notice us and act as Fleetheart says they will."

Longstar stood and shook out his fur as a cool draft blew through the den. He looked out the hole in the wall at a group of cats moving around on the path below. Yellowstar and Sharptooth ended their discussion and looked in his direction.

"Is something wrong?" Sharptooth asked.

"I agree with Yellowstar," Longstar responded.

"What? But her idea isn't even—"

"Her idea is exactly what Bonbon would want us to do," the leader said. "She's right. It goes beyond the food, the territory, or LeafClan. It even goes beyond StarClan. She didn't need them to tell her to help a cat in trouble."

Sharptooth sighed. "But we don't have the stuff to help the pets after they are in our territory. It's literally destroyed in most parts, and our food supply is moderate on good nights. But what I'm most concerned about is the danger this plan poses to our cats. A LeafClan raid or a sky-monster attack… there's just too much risk."

"To minimize one of those risks, we have Littlescent."

The group cast their eyes on the small tortoiseshell cat who had not yet spoken. She folded her ears back at all the attention.

Longstar locked eyes with her. "I only want to do this if you're absolutely certain about helping the pets. If you agree with Sharptooth and Panzer, I'll reject the plan right now. It will be high risk to you."

Littlescent returned Yellowstar's gaze, her wide eyes almost pleading. She glanced at Longstar, who's relaxed and soft eyes reflected his mood in the matter, as it always did.

 _So the decision falls to me,_ she thought _. I hate it when that happens._

"Longstar," she started, "I want to help but… what exactly did you have in mind when you said 'minimize the risks'?"

"I understand your concern for… well, your own life," he responded. "I would never want to risk my cats any more than they already do, but you're different. Even wildcats can't detect you. Staying near destroyed nests would help mask any scents your fur has picked up."

Sharptooth looked away from the small, senior warrior and back at Longstar.

"That's fine, but what about after this is all done? Wolfstar has patrols everywhere, even in our territory. He would eventually figure out that we have gone against Mousetail's warning. He might strike, thinking her old prophecy is beginning."

"I'm not concerned about that," Longstar said. "But the wildcats do patrol our territory, and we can only drive them off if they are trying to hunt and not hide. If caught moving the pets, there will be a fight. But if Littlescent sneaks to them through the Upper Territories, she can move them through the Lower Territories. Many of our warriors can keep them away, and search for wildcat patrols. The pets can be moved away after that. LeafClan doesn't have to know."

Littlescent nodded her head in agreement. "So what you're concerned with is avoiding a fight with LeafClan?"

"They're starving," he said. "They will fight the second they learn we are going against the wishes of their leader. They still vastly outnumber us while our own numbers keep shrinking. We can't afford another war, not while things are like this. But at least we can help the pets who might be worse off than us."

Sharptooth looked over at Yellowstar, whose eyes were wide at the StoneClan leader's idea. He stood and let out a yawn before speaking.

"I still don't think we should go through with this. It's still too great a risk to our Pact with them. What if one of their hidden patrols spots our move by accident? Might as well throw the Pact out and prepare for war even faster.

Yellowstar met Sharptooth with her firm gaze.

"So you're still on Panzer's side then?"

"Yes," he responded. "She _did_ make some good points about what would happen after this all ends. Some might stay, most might stay. Integrating them into either of our clans could be more problematic than it's worth, especially if LeafClan notices."

He turned to Longstar. "We can't do this to our clan. Even with your way of doing this, I think we should hold off and wait for the wildcats to make the next move first. Going against their wishes could anger them, and their clan is about to starve. They'll have to solve their problem very soon, or come to us for help."

"It could take too long for Wolfstar to act," Longstar responded. "What if he manages to sustain his clan, somehow, until it's too late for the pets?"

"I don't think he would," Sharptooth said. "To him protecting LeafClan comes before following the Pact… I urge you to rethink this. I've been gathering all those thundersticks in case war does happen, but you of all cats would be the last one to have to order me to use them."

Longstar looked away from his deputy and out of the hole in the den. The pale light showed the actions of the small groups of cats below. Some were bringing back food, some were leaving out on patrol. Three large cats were pushing a stone piece from a broken Twoleg den towards the entrance as the dim beams of the search-lights panned back and forth.

"You might be right," Longstar finally said. "I don't want to risk our relations with LeafClan just for something like this. I would rather—"

" _Just_ for this?" Littlescent narrowed her eyes briefly at the grey and black tom, taken back by her sudden interruption. She glanced around, though, and quickly retracted her scowl and looked away from the group. "I just… don't think you should reject this plan. I don't think it's what Bonbon would've wanted."

"She would've wanted me to put the clan first. Times have changed since her death, and I don't want to put the clan in more risk than it is now.

"Even if it means pets have to die in the process?" She thought about what she said for a moment before eyeing the others. Yellowstar did not look surprised. Sharptooth just stared right at her.

"Well then what do you propose we do, little one," Yellowstar said as she casually brushed her ginger fur.

Littlescent thought about what the others had said, and about the wildcats.

 _From what I saw, they looked pretty desperate at the meeting earlier... is this really worth it? Would they outright raid our territory if we succeed? But are the pet's lives any less valuable? There are almost twice as many of them as us…_

Something nudged her shoulder. Fleetheart looked directly at her in confusion, nodding her head towards Longstar again.

"Say something," she whispered. "You're probably losing them."

Littlescent took a deep breath and shook her fur. She knew what she had to do.

"Longstar… I'll do it myself if I have to. Even if I have to bring them out one by one. Our clan is important, and our cats' lives valuable, but so are theirs. Eight seasons ago, StoneClan took a chance on a small and weak runt in my mother's litter. Panzer said I deserved a chance, and so did you. Just as they all deserve a chance at life, if nothing else."

Longstar took a deep breath and turned to whisper to Sharptooth. Yellowstar and Fleetheart looked on as the two discussed Littlescent's last statement. A gust of wind blew through the large hole, the first to not carry the scent of smoke.

"I think I will go with Littlescent," Longstar said. "While the risk of provoking LeafClan is high, assuming she doesn't get caught we might be able to pull this off with minimum risk to our own clans. You may do as you wish with your plan, Littlescent. And you have the full support of our warriors. StarClan orders or not, Bonbon would've done it."

"There was no talking you out of this, was there?" asked Sharptooth.

"You almost did," he responded. "I was about to send Yellowstar home, until Littlescent said something."

"Then as deputy, I follow you. What Panzer says is still true and we need to think about what to do with them after this is done."

"I thank you for your clan's assistance," Yellowstar said. "With Littlescent at our side, we should have no problem saving those pets."

Longstar stood, moving closer to the hole in the back wall.

"Well if there's no more business, this meeting is over. Good luck, Littlescent."

Longstar and Sharptooth stayed to further discuss the plan. Yellowstar stood and stretched her hind legs before pushing the entrance back towards the wall, enough to see down the hall. Littlescent and Fleetheart followed.

"Now I do not want to waste any time," she said. "We need to alert the pets of our plan to give them time to prepare to leave, or decide if they even want to leave. I want you to do that while the moon is still out and the pets are roaming. Is this possible for you?"

"Yeah." Littlescent responded with enthusiasm. "That's the easy part."

"Good, because our clan needs time to get ready to relocate so many cats. For now, this plan is just you and BreezeClan."

Yellowstar moved ahead of the pair towards the steps to the ground floor when she saw a faint blue cat lurk out of the shadows from the roof steps. Yellowstar stopped as the old medicine cat angrily glared at her. Yellowstar looked back at her briefly, then haughtily held her head high and whisked her tail as she walked down the steps.

Panzer waited until she was halfway down the steps to begin speaking.

"That orange ball of _dummkoph_ has no idea what she's doing. It'll be her fault when we're tossing her whole clan into a pile of dead cats. Worst of it is she might have convinced Longcat to _go_ with this idea. What a joke…"

Littlescent and Fleetheart glanced at each other briefly. Panzer was not amused.

"What did your two do?"

"Well," Fleetheart started, "Littlescent convinced Longstar to go along with—"

" _Fleetheart!_ " Panzer shouted. "Of all the cats in there, I at least thought you'd not trust the Star-eyed one."

"Now, now, we're not going along with _her_ plan. You see, Longstar asked Littlescent to go along with the plan his way and just use her to rescue the pets, but then Sharptooth convinced him otherwise. And Littlescent spoke up and actually persuaded Longstar; she even argued and interrupted him! We can move the pets and relocate most of them without LeafClan ever knowing. I'll tell you about it!"

Panzer slowly turned her furled cheeks towards the small tortoiseshell. "So it was _you_. I should've known. Both you and Longone have too soft a spot for kittypets."

"Actually," stated Littlescent, "I thought you'd be more open to this plan… It was you who told Longstar about me while I was still part of a stray litter."

"Is that some kind of insult?" she responded. "You think I'd go along with this so easily?"

"Well… yes. Since you did for me."

Panzer stared straight into the warrior's bright green eyes.

"Well for you it was different. I took only you, and one nursing stray is a lot less dangerous than a swarm of sky-monsters or a wildcat patrol. You wouldn't have been much use to anyone as queen-then-crow-food… it was more or less worth it."

"So why can't we give these pets a fair chance at life?" Littlescent said. "Like you did for me?"

"Look around." Panzer's tone became serious and low. "Things are hard, wildcats are angry, and the Stars quit. No one else was at risk but me with you. If those kittypets had any sense they would've left by now. Nothing's stopping them. There's rouge groups all over _Hamburg_. Pick one, show your worth, and stick with it is what I'd say."

Panzer turned to walk up the steps leading to the roof of the camp. She turned back towards the pair as she began her ascent.

"The Stars be with you, Littlebrain. Whatever's left of them."

As she walked around the corner of the steps and left the pair's sight, Fleetheart began wagging her tail in excitement.

"What is it this time?" Littlescent asked.

"You just got a _compliment_ from Panzer! It took many moons after I became an apprentice to get one of those."

Littlescent raised one of her brows. " _That_ was a compliment?"

The medicine cat's tail was swirling. "Yep, it was in there. That's great news! And here I was thinking she really hated you… well, I should get back to the medicine den since she's taking a break. See you later, 'Littlebrain.'"

The light grey she-cat quickly darted down the steps to the first floor, leaving her friend alone in the near dark hall, the moonlight shining through a hole over her head.

 _So, it looks like it's on me now,_ she thought. _The pets will be safe as long as I succeed. Yellowstar and Longstar can relocate them, Panzer won't be mad, and LeafClan won't find out. Simple as that, I hope... like Sharptooth said, they wouldn't attack us directly unless things get_ that _bad over there. But Mousetail made it should like they would. Poor cat looks like she hasn't eaten anything... I wonder if Horsepelt can tell me how bad things are, if I can ever find him again…_

 _…_

 _Panzer didn't regret saving me… did she? I just can't understand if what she says is serious sometimes. I honestly need a Fleetheart for that…_

A large, black cat poked his head over the edge of the steps and looked right at Littlescent.

"Yellowstar's downstairs. She wants to see you right away." He dipped his head back down the steps and disappeared.

 _Well, when she meant 'right away' she really meant it._

Littlescent took one last look through the dark passage that lead to the top of the camp and padded down the steps herself.


	11. Chapter 10

"You will not have any trouble with this, right?"

Littlescent looked up at the sky, unable to see the moon from the back entrance of the camp. The bright orange leader looked up at the clear night sky, the search-lights still waving back and forth overhead. In the distance, a fainter siren slowly crept from beyond the Upper Territories.

"Yeah, I've got this," Littlescent responded.

"And the LeafClan patrols?" Yellowstar asked. "You will be able to avoid them, right?"

"I know a route," the warrior responded. "I found it on my way back from my first assignment like this."

"Good," Yellowstar said as she shook the dust from her fur. "All you have to do is tell the pets about our plan and come back here. They may need time to prepare."

Littlescent nodded her head in agreement as she dropped to her side and started rolling around in the dust below. Yellowstar backed away from the small cloud she kicked up.

"Are you sure you do not wish to roll around in plants?" she asked. "Our clan has had some success hiding from wildcats by rolling in the few green patches. It also keeps your coat cleaner."

"I'm fine," Littlescent said. "Panzer says mud is the best way to hide a scent. But this will do, since there's no mud near our camp."

Littlescent stood, her small brown patches almost invisible matched with the dust on her fur. She began to walk away from the BreezeClan leader, looking up at the sky once again, the glow of the crescent moon drowned out by the search-lights.

"May the Stars guide you to safety," Yellowstar shouted. Littlescent turned her head back briefly and kept going on the thunderpath towards the Upper Territories. The wind picked up again, a gust making her scratch at her front paws.

 _I'll never get used to that,_ she thought. _But at least I am downwind to LeafClan's new borders again._

The distant siren continued and fixed itself in the direction she moved towards. When she reached the intersection of the thunderpath, she glanced towards the Lower Territories. A small plume of smoke rose above the standing nests.

 _Looks like one of them is on fire again. But at least it's a small fire, so that smoke won't spread too far…_

Littlescent looked both directions before crossing the empty thunderpath to the Upper Territories. The monsters with the large thundersticks on their backs were not rolling around, as they usually did after the sky-monsters showed up. Another wind gust lingered across the warrior's path. She picked up the scent of another cat's mark.

 _That… that's too strong to be any of our cats… I'll have to report this to Longstar when I get back. He should know that LeafClan could be moving their borders in areas they know we don't patrol. And so close to our camp, too. That'll have to change now._

Littlescent made her way across the path and onto the larger one that lead straight into the Upper Territories. From there she could clearly see another cat scurrying across the path in the distance. The dark cat was large and quick. Littlescent slowed her pace to a crawl after seeing for herself that the wildcats might have unknowingly surrounded her.

Littlescent stepped around a puddle of thick, black liquid – stuff Panzer told her to avoid – and continued along the edge of the habited Twoleg dens. The lights that towered overhead along the thunderpath were unlit, having their source destroyed by the sky-monster attacks.

She looked around the corner of some steps leading into one of the nests, an alley around the corner. After giving it a long search for hidden wildcats, she leapt across the path in front of it, quickly darting behind the steps on the other side. Her head quickly twitched side to side, she sniffed at the dry and smoky air, and occasionally looked back to check if she was being followed.

 _Calm down, Littlescent,_ she told herself. _We've done this before. They can't find you, and they usually stick to the large paths. Just get to the abandoned strip of grass where the pets group up. We've been there before… how much easier this would be if there were monsters around to ride on. The wildcats wouldn't think twice of any clan cat hiding on one of those._

Another gust of wind blew through the compact row of Twoleg nests. Littlescent resisted the urge to shake and allow the wind to blow through her fur, and to blow away her cover of dust. She continued along the narrow path.

On her side, no lights could be seen inside the nests. They were still mostly intact, only a few fallen pieces scattered around her path. When she was near them she felt safe, knowing that living creatures were inside of there. It was as close as she could get, even though she was on StoneClan territory.

She looked towards the other side of the path, finding nothing more than the empty out nests from the attacks that once towered over her own camp. The front walls that had blocked vision inside had all but collapsed, revealing the walls that divided the separate dens and completely blocking the half of the thunderpath in front of it.

The charred remains of Twoleg stuff remained within; anything useful to cats had already been taken long ago by Panzer and Fleetheart's patrols. They still gave off a scent like they were freshly burned, making Littlescent curl her nose in revulsion.

 _Are the Twolegs just going to let this area stay like this? Do they even care that they live next to destroyed nests? Even in them? If they can fight back I'm sure they can rebuild their nests; lazy Twolegs should at least make the ones who aren't fighting do it._

Littlescent looked ahead again and quickly darted behind another set of steps. Two large cats were ahead of her at the intersection of the thunderpaths. She needed to leave the larger path for the smaller one that ran along a large structure. After taking a closer look, she knew the two dark figures were wildcats trying to hide in the shadows at the intersection.

The small warrior looked at her surroundings for a way around them.

 _Okay, there's two of them at the intersection; I'm only a few nests away from them… the other two paths might be guarded as well… why of all times do they need to stay in_ that _spot… there's a burned-down nest behind one of them, probably more hiding in there. Maybe there's a hunting patrol resting in there._

She watched the wildcats carefully. They were unmoving, each standing at one of the corners of the intersection. She decided to get a little closer, creeping around the steps she was hiding behind and walking down the unlit path towards the cats.

Another wind gust picked up, this one stronger than the others. It pushed at her fur from the side, making her shiver uncomfortably.

 _With the wind coming at my side, I should be able to get really close before they can scent me. As long as they don't hear me…_

As she crept closer to the wildcat guards, she picked up a sour smell from them. She nearly curled her nose at its strength.

 _One of their marking teams. And they_ dare _to mark our territory._

She began to look over the area for more cats, some of them shifting around.

 _There will only be three of them. One of them marking and two of them to guard. But if they're this far into our territory, then there should be two, maybe three patrols around them._

Littlescent stalked two nests away from them, as close as she would dare go in fear of them spotting her small figure moving around. She tried to catch their own scents, but could not over the fresh marks.

 _If I can't smell them over their own markings, then they'll have no chance at finding me being right next to them. A small break… unless they spot me or hear me._

She looked over her surroundings. Directly in front of her, the large thunderpath she was on continued. Knowing she could not risk being exposed while moving, she kept looking. Ahead of the steps she was hiding behind was the large structure that bordered the small path she needed to get to. The nest's wall was almost completely collapsed, and the wildcat was sitting at the highest point of the debris. The cat looked side to side, constantly searching for 'trespassers'.

Littlescent poked her head out from behind the steps again to look at the second cat. The wildcat was lying down, high in a ruined nest right across from the nest the other cat was sitting in. She noticed that this one was not as alert, and was lounging with its head resting in its front paws. Littlescent looked up at the sky as another gust of wind rattled her fur. A few search-lights were still waving back and forth, constantly blocking her view of the crescent moon.

 _Good thing that lounging cat is the one who'll have the best view of me. If I move quietly through the ruins of the nest I'm close to, I'll be fine. That lazy wildcat would never catch me like that. The other one wouldn't even see me since I'm moving underneath its spot… any cats inside shouldn't see me if I move through them._

Littlescent took a deep breath and waited for the active wildcat to face away from her. A snap sounded down the path they were guarding. It caught the cat's attention, and they looked away from her. She took the opportunity to dart from behind the steps to the side of the structure and cross the thunderpath. She jumped into a hole in the pile of fallen pieces and hid. She waited for a while to see if the others had spotted her.

"Give it up already," shouted the lounging wildcat, a she-cat. "Won't see anything here. You searching probably giving us away."

 _I guess I'm fine then. Now just to concentrate on finding a path through this mess._

"Looking for stone cats," a tom responded. "Can't have them sneak on us while on their territory."

Littlescent continued to crawl through the fallen nest. The steady breeze through the open holes trapped the bitter scent of the wildcat's marks. She used the light of the moon from the holes to slowly find her way through, without stepping on any stray objects.

"Molepaw, your mark strong," the she-cat said. "Too strong… did you drink that Twoleg water from stone cat's territory or something?"

"With respect, warrior," the tom responded, "shouldn't we guard post in quiet? Wait for little stone cats to show up, ambush them?"

"You new?" she asked. "Probably. Or you know what we _actually_ do all night."

Littlescent moved through a large opening facing the wildcat on the ledge. Certain she was not looking in her direction, she darted past. She looked at her through a smaller hole right next to the opening.

"But… but what about StoneClan?" Molepaw said.

"What _about_ StoneClan." The warrior let out a deep yawn. "Let them run round in their broken territory. They not threat to us. Their cats half our size; their clan _less_ than half our size. Only time we pay attention to them is if they have food."

"So… we attack cats with food but let others go?"

The she-cat on the ledge let out another yawn and stretched her front paws, now looking at the novice Molepaw.

"We scare cats who come this way, maybe chase them and tell others, but not kill. Not worth enough to kill just one stone cat. Not while I see your bones, it's not."

Littlescent left the small hole in the wall and kept climbing through the rubble. She decided to move the closest point to them while the wildcats were well distracted.

"But why not fight? Why not get every cat we can? If we want to hunt their territory, shouldn't we keep them away instead of letting them run to tell others where we are? They not starving, so they not worry about saving energy. Can't they come back with others and kill us?"

"You must be _really_ new if you think group of once-housecats can kill us." The large she-cat flipped over on her back and began pawing at the sky, no longer looking at Molepaw. "They match our numbers, we still kill them. They outnumber, we run long before they get us. Worth energy then."

Littlescent glanced up to try and look at the wildcat apprentice, but could not see past the mess of Twoleg stuff she was walking through. She decided to keep going past his lookout spot, carefully eyeing the careless she-cat. Another gust of wind blew down the alley and replaced the strong wildcat mark with the flat, dry scent of her dust coat.

"Beepelt," Ratpaw asked, "do you hate stone cats?"

The wildcat stopped pawing at the air and looked at the tom. "Well _that_ was random… listen, stone cats kill many of us long ago. We kill many of them, but was not worth. Still isn't. And never will be. Not even for food. Like I always say to young ones, avoid a war and you won't have to hate stone cats."

Littlescent crept through a small opening in the rubble to the other side and quickly darted behind a set of steps. Ratpaw remained vigilant, while Beepelt went back to clawing at the sky. She proudly ran down the path to the next intersection, looking back once more at the wildcats she had walked past.

 _The long strip of grass should be straight ahead at the end of the next path crossing. I'll find a different way back after that._

Littlescent continued down the small path along the rest of the length of the destroyed nest, occasionally looking down to avoid the sharp, clear pieces of rock used to cover the openings of the nests. Looking up, she found only a few search-lights moving across the sky. The moon, however, was now blocked by the height of the nests around her.

Arriving at the intersection, she looked it over for signs of other cats. There were three; one was sitting in the middle of the intersection, looking around. The other two were sitting on a pile of rubble further behind him along the edge of the large path she needed to cross. The small path was completely unguarded, but the cat sitting right in the middle of the intersection made it a problem.

The warrior looked for an opening, but could not find any. The wildcat sitting in the center of the intersection was difficult to get past since it looked in all directions. There were several small pieces of rubble in the path, but all were too small to hide behind.

Further up the large thunderpath, in the middle of it, was a small monster with one of the active search-lights on it. It continued to watch the skies for enemy monsters, and one lone Twoleg sat on the back of it, twisting and turning parts of it to make the light move around.

 _The monster blocks enough of the path to stay out of their vision. If I find a way through the nest next to me, I can come out on the other side and sneak past. Panzer says all Twoleg nests have a front and back entrance. This one should be no different._

Another heavy gust of wind blew down the path she was on, coming from behind her this time. Littlescent panicked, searching for steps to hide behind. She could not find any.

The large wildcat sitting in the middle of the path straightened up, sticking its nose in the air to search for the source of the strange scent. Littlescent shook her head and quickly jumped through a broken opening next to the closed entrance of the Twoleg nest. Taking cover behind a piece of rubble when she landed, she stayed quiet as her heartbeat quickened, hoping the wildcats did not see her.

Littlescent looked around the abandoned nest for anything. She saw that the crossed support structure all nests shared was all that was left of the second floor. The rest of it lay in front of her.

Twoleg objects were scattered all over; the stuff useful to cats was nowhere to be found. Large beams of moonlight shining through open holes revealed the dust in the air and all the sharp, loose objects on the floor. Speed was no longer an option.

 _Calm down, Littlescent. They could've just caught some of that really strong mark from behind me. But those wildcats will question me, torture me, if they find me alone… maybe… I've just got to get to the back entrance and hide behind the monster_ _—_

A light ping echoed through the nest. The front entrance began to creek open. Littlescent quickly began jumping up a pile of the fallen structure close to one of the openings. The entrance slammed open against the wall. Littlescent hurled herself over in fear, landing on the sharp objects from the nearby hole. She held in her yelp, but didn't look at the cut on her thigh. Her eyes were fixed on the entrance as it groaned back and forth against the wall.

The shadow of another cat appeared on the pile she once hid behind. The ears were short and the head was wide. She was certain it was the silhouette of a wildcat. A paw stuck out in the open entrance. Littlescent crouched to her stomach, then realizing the moonlight was shining directly on her.

She looked around for another place to hide, but moving around the sharp objects would make too much noise. Littlescent decided to ready herself to pounce on the wildcat if she had to. Before she could think how to ambush him the paw in the entrance rose into the air. It tapped on the opening twice and waited. Then tapped twice again. After waiting a while the paw withdrew, the wildcat entered. It stuck to the sides of the rubble, staying out of the direct moonlight.

Littlescent fixed her eyes on it as it slowly pawed through the loose pieces of sharp objects on the ground. The wildcat looked around as it went deeper into the structures. The small she-cat tensed her body as it got closer to her. She knew that eventually it would look around the corner.

Quietly she braced herself and lifted her hind into the air, ready to pounce on the cat the second she got a chance. Her heartbeat quickened and her claws unsheathed. She knew she would only win if she ambushed it.

The cat walked on the opposite side of the pile she was hiding behind. It would smell her at that distance, despite her scentless body and the stuff in the nest. It was too close.

The wildcat jumped in front of her. His teeth were showing and his paw was already above her. Littlescent lunged at the cat, her vision blurred as she snapped her jaw at where she thought its neck was.

"Wait, stop!"

A familiar voice spoke as the pair tumbled onto an empty part of the ground. Littlescent took a look at the large wildcat she had grappled, releasing her jaws from his leg. Her claws were still near his shoulders.

"And why should I," Littlescent responded.

"Because I don't want to fight."

Littlescent looked around as the tom tapped her belly with his hind paws; his massive claws pinched against her short fur with each tap.

"Rather, I don't want to kill you."

Littlescent tried to appear dangerous, knowing the cat could kill her at any moment.

"And why not?"

"I did not first time we met," the wildcat responded. "You not remember me, Littlescent?"

She quickly hopped away from the dark brown wildcat tom, her energy sinking. Horsepelt got to his feet and walked into the moonlight, his hazel eyes staring right into hers.

"I came close to killing you. Had no idea who you were until I turned corner and saw you. I should have known when I could not find you with scent."

Littlescent looked around, realizing the moonlight was still on her. The pain from her cut lightly stung at her side. She saw a drop of her blood had landed on a broken clear shard, making the whole piece appear red.

She briefly looked away from Horsepelt. "I knew I was hiding in plain moonlight. But I didn't know I was bleeding, too… that scent could've been detected over the scent of all of this stuff."

He shook his pelt out. "But you not kind of warrior who ambushes and kills cats. At least, I think not."

"No," she responded as she wiped her wound over with her tail. "I've never actually ambushed another cat alone before. Not to kill, at least."

Littlescent looked around at the ruined nest she was in and remembered her mission. "So… what are you doing in here?"

"We were sent here to hunt your territory," Horsepelt said. "Wolfstar firm on his decision. I went in here myself to check on strange scent one of my cats caught in wind. I thought it was kind of like our marking team. But then I heard noise."

Littlescent scowled a bit. "Everything was against me for a brief moment. But I'm glad it was you who found me… and that we didn't make too much noise."

"Stay hidden," he said. "I report back to my patrol that I scout ahead for a while. Then we leave through back entrance. There some stuff that can block us there."

The dark tom moved past Littlescent and stretched upright, his front paws just below the open hole to avoid the shattered clear pieces.

She looked up at the tall wildcat as he waved his right paw over his head. Another wildcat quickly ran over towards the window, crouching behind one of the nearby monsters. Littlescent dared not look over the ledge. She just sat still, trying to stay as calm as possible.

The wildcat bobbed his head up and down twice. Horsepelt shook his head. The wildcat sat still for a while. Then Horsepelt pointed his paw to his left down the thunderpath and again towards his right. The other cat moved his paw in front of his chest and held it there. Again Horsepelt shook his head. The wildcat nodded his head and ran back to his position in the middle of the intersection.

The dark tom hopped down from the ledge and looked around the rest of the destroyed nest.

"You came alone, right?" he asked.

"Of course," she said. "More cats would've been detected at the first intersection I snuck past."

He nodded his head. "We head through back entrance. Large pile of this broken nest blocks us from my patrol's view. We cross thunderpath. No other cats will be there."

Littlescent nodded her head and followed after the wildcat as he carefully padded towards the back entrance. The structure began to creek and whistle as another gust of wind whipped through its holes.

"So," Horsepelt started, "what are _you_ doing here?"

Taken by surprise at the question, Littlescent thought of a way to hide what she was doing from the LeafClan warrior.

"I'm… out on patrol. I was sent to see how many of your clan's cats went into our Upper Territories, and which areas were being guarded and marked."

"No way," the tom responded. "If that was case, you would leave after seeing us at last intersection. Returned with more warriors. But you went past them, here, to hide. Maybe go around us."

 _Telling him could be risky. I should remember what Fleetheart and Longstar told me… but this one… how will I ever get his trust if I don't tell him anything about what I'm doing…_

"You can trust me," he said. "I never tell anyone what you doing."

 _Either I gain his trust and tell him, or I run away here and now and never see him again. If there's any possibility of making friends with just one wildcat…_

"You can't tell anyone about this. Not one of your clanmates, understand?"

The dark brown tom nodded his head as he pushed open the back entrance. The moonlight flooded the cat's vision as they stepped outside in front of a large pile of what was left of the top nests. They leapt on and over the pile and crouched behind it. Horsepelt looked around for signs of his clanmates, and kept going. The only thing the cats could see was the nearby monster and the other structures.

Littlescent walked closer to Horsepelt, looking around herself before continuing.

"Our clan plans on helping the pets trapped beyond our territory," she said softly. "I am on my way to the small patch of grass on the border of our territory. That's usually where most of the pets like to go off to while their owners are sleeping. I'm going… to tell them they have until the next moonhigh to decide if they want to leave to safety.

The pair looked down the thunderpath towards Horsepelt's patrol, now visible through the rubble. The group did not seem to see them. The two cats continued across the rest of the path and down the alley, Littlescent taking the lead.

"We want these pets safe," she continued. "The sky-monster raids only get worse and worse. We think they will die if they stay there any longer. So we're giving them an option. Even if they don't repay us in any way, we still believe they don't deserve to die like this."

"And they sent you to keep us from knowing, right?" Horespelt said.

"Right. Mousetail warned that Wolfstar would not approve of it in any way. He said adding more cats to our territories would only make… your situation worse."

"You mean starving faster?" he said.

Littlescent looked up at the sky; only two search-lights were moving around the sky this time. One of them was nearby. She tried to avoid his eyes.

"It's okay," Horsepelt responded. "LeafClan _is_ starving, no secret. Otherwise would not be here… It pains me every time Wolfstar force me to eat, while I walk past starving queens and lesser warriors. Hard for us, but doesn't mean others should pay for it. Wolfstar thinks if you rescue pets, they will join StoneClan, be trained, and hunt your territory faster... and be a threat to us. He has made move. There is no stopping him now."

"So this is it," Littlescent responded. "Wolfstar's not backing down. He broke the Pact, just like Panzer said."

The wildcat tom shook his head. "Do not blame him. He does not want to. But our survival, he says, more important than Pact. There will be more of us next time. I not know after that."

Littlescent stayed silent as the pair rounded a corner down an alley. Behind it, they found a wider grass-filled alley, surrounded on all sides by Twoleg nests. In the center was a large structure that twisted in different directions, frequented by Twoleg kits. The smell of plants and dust hit them as they walked in and searched.

"I don't see any." Littlescent walked further ahead of Horsepelt, moving between the plants and the shiny structure. "They usually come here to talk, but I see no one."

"I think I know why," Horsepelt started. "Our cat's scents blowing with wind. Probably caught it and ran. We close, after all. You know anywhere else pets like to go?"

She walked back into the alley and looked up. A large, thin structure poked out over the structures, a shiny object housed within the top of it.

"The Twoleg prayer-nest," Littlescent responded. "I've never been in myself, but I heard it's where the pets gathered to avoid your clan's hunter-killer patrols during the war. They might still be there, so long as no one's claimed it."

"Our clan has no interest in such places," the tom said. "Our patrols don't go that far out into unclaimed territory. I think it best if I don't enter. Pets don't trust wildcats."

The pair walked past the hidden strip of grass, continuing down the alley towards the large pillar that poked over the other structures.

"Pets… just didn't agree with your methods. That's all," Littlescent said.

"Thanks for making it sound better," he responded. "Our clan is reason there is only one other large clan. Not blame pets for hating us. I bet it difficult to forget clans that used to help them."

The senior warriors reached the end of the alley. Littlescent took cover behind some steps leading to the entrance of a structure. Horsepelt walked partly across the large thunderpath that intersected the alley. Once he was sure none of his clan members stood in his way, he motioned to Littlescent that it was safe.

The cats darted across the path, walking past a stretch of silverthorns that ran across the entire path to their right. A Twoleg warrior was watching the pair cross the path from the other side. Littlescent paused to look at the long thunderstick he was holding, and to look at an object with a burning tip in his mouth. She continued across the path as he took it out of his mouth and blew a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Littlescent," Horsepelt asked as they began walking down another small alley. "How was that Twoleg making smoke so easily? Always wondered about that."

"Panzer told me it's a soft roll of stuff that the Twolegs burn and breathe in and out. We have no idea why, but many of their warriors do it."

Horsepelt continued to watch the Twoleg. "Even before I was born, LeafClan never study Twolegs. We move into their territory, live next to them, among them, know nothing about behavior."

Littlescent nodded her head. "It can be interesting sometimes but confusing other times… I remember one time when me and Fleetheart spent a whole night trying to find the rocks that they use to make that shiny grey stuff. And then there was the time we tried to figure out how sky-monsters fly without flapping their wings. We got up real close to one; it was being carried in on a giant snake monster that stopped in the middle of its tracks. We jumped on its back and studied the sky-monster it was carrying until it started moving again."

"Did you ever figure it out?"

"It seems impossible." Littlescent shook her head. "No feathers or anything. But a Twoleg jumps inside and makes the nose spin around and, sure enough, it flies. And it flies fast."

Horsepelt looked ahead of him as a cool gust of wind made Littlescent scratch at her neck with her teeth as she walked.

"We once rode fire-spitter while it was still moving."

Littlescent stopped scratching herself and looked at her companion in shock.

"No."

"Yes. Me and my patrol group were still apprentices. It was slower than a walking cat, and right past a rock. So we jump on its back, scratch it. Didn't do anything at first; we thought they ignore us. We kept scratching. Then it moved its head and pointed long nose to the sky. The thunder it spat actually shook our bodies all over. We just fell off, big headache. Ears were rattling for while after. I not mess with them since."

Littlescent leaned in a bit closer. "Panzer told me Tigers are death to cats. She's seen one take down a _whole_ _nest_ out with just one boom. They're insane! And so are the Twolegs that control them."

The pair approached the end of the alley, another intersection in their way. But this time, the opposite side was a clearing instead of another alley. On the clearing stood a large stone construct in the shape of a Twoleg, and at its feet was a sign:

 **Alle sind herzlich eingeladen in das Haus Gottes.**

The pillar stood twice the height of the rest of the structure. Behind it was a narrow nest that was partly hidden by trees and bushes that surrounded it. The two holes in the front were covered with magnificent colors which reflected the bright moonlight."

"Well, this is it," Littlescent said. "The Twoleg prayer-nest."

"So… I guess this is where we part ways," Horsepelt said.

"You don't have to leave," she quickly responded. "I'm sure I can get the pets to warm up to you. If they see that a cat from another clan is willing to trust a wildcat, they'll be willing to try, at least."

He shook his head. "They see I trust them, say LeafClan won't hurt them. I can't promise that. They _will_ kill them. Would be false promise. Besides, too much history with wildcats to trust us. The older warriors did used to hunt them for fun."

Horsepelt began walking away before turning his head to stare at Littlescent once more.

"Littlescent, do you trust me now?"

The StoneClan cat looked back at Horsepelt as he stared straight into her eyes.

"Yes... without a doubt you can be trusted."

The wildcat tom continued to stare at Littlescent, who stared back into his hazel eyes with sincerity. She knew he had to leave or he could scare the pets away, but she did not want him to. She kept staring until he spotted a cat walking up to the nest and ran back down the alley they came from. Littlescent watched his dark figure blend into the shadows and out of sight.

 _He's good company. Much calmer and sincere, unlike other wildcats I've met. I swear if his whole clan was like him, there wouldn't be any threats or problems… no. I can't say that. I bet more of his clan would agree to avoid violence if they just had a chance to. I think._

Littlescent began running across the intersection towards the clearing. She tried to think about all the good things that could come if she had the chance to talk to more wildcats, rather than avoiding them.

As she passed the stone Twoleg, she looked at the open entrance to the structure. She knew the cat that had run past went inside. Littlescent glanced up at the crescent moon, its full, unobstructed glow brightening the prayer-nest. The faint stars appeared to her for the first time since she had woken.

After taking a deep breath, Littlescent walked through the entrance into a single, long den. A clear path ran through the den, leading up to some steps at the end. Another stone Twoleg was at the end of it, but he was much more detailed than the other one outside.

He did not have his skin covered like the living ones, only his thighs were covered. He had large patches of stone hair on his face and head, and his whole body was posed on two large stone sticks that crossed behind his back.

After walking down the rows, Littlescent sat in the middle of the alley, close to the stone Twoleg. She continued to look it over as another cat slowly crept behind one of the rows into the alley.

"It's okay," Littlescent said to the cat's surprise. "I'm a friend."

"How did you see me," said a high-pitched voice. "You never even turned around."

"I'm a StoneClan warrior. I caught your scent before you even came into this nest."

"A clan cat? That makes sense… but then, it doesn't. This is beyond either clan's territory. What could you want from this place… oh please don't say you're here to claim _this_ nest as your new territory."

Littlescent turned to face a grey and brown-spotted she-cat who was crouched down, ready to fight or run at a moment's notice. Her orange eyes were fixed on the clan cat's front paws, waiting for movement. Her large collar scratched against the wood floor.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the warrior said, "and I'm not here for this place. I'm Littlescent, and I'm here with a message for all pets. If you can, please gather as many as you can and bring them here if they're interested in leaving this area."

The pet stood, now looking Littlescent in the eye.

"You… you came here to save us?" she asked.

"If you want to call it that, yes. I'm offering you a way out of this area. We believe it's very dangerous."

"Yes, of course," she said, dropping her hostile stance. "So many of us have been lost to sky-monsters recently. I'll go gather them right now. They'll defiantly want to hear about something like this… especially after that incident with the wildcats."

The she-cat quickly darted out the entrance to the nest. Littlescent turned back towards the stone Twoleg, looking into its unmoving eyes.

"It's just you and me for a while, I guess."

The warrior looked around the large nest. All around her were rows and rows of long pieces of wood the Twolegs would sit on, all facing the stone figure. Right before it, facing the seats was a tall wood piece, just short enough for a grown Twoleg to stand over it.

 _That must be where the Twoleg who gets visions stands,_ she thought.

Littlescent walked towards the stone figure, hopping up on the closest of the wood pieces. She continued to look at it as it hung, frozen.

 _Panzer says you are the only one the Twolegs pray to. But there are so many more of them than us, so there has to be many of them in their StarClan. Yet they only try to remember you. Do they not fear being forgotten? Or fading to nothing in the Stars? What did this Twoleg do that was so important that everyone else's lives are worth being forgotten? Was he a great warrior? Or maybe he healed many Twolegs with special powers he got… Panzer says powers are impossible though…_

 _StarClan can't change what happens here without walking in our dreams. And they haven't done that in a while. I wonder if the Twolegs are visited by this one in their dreams like we once were. And if he tells them about their enemies that are impossible distances away… impossible for cats, at least._

Littlescent jumped to her feet as the entrance creaked open, poking her head out from the edge of her spot to find that it was just the wind. A large gust had nearly blown it shut, and she quickly calmed herself down before sitting again.

 _There are no wildcats there… what am I doing? What am I thinking? I keep thinking the wildcats are looking for me. That they're trying to tear me apart, or worse. I've let too many of Panzer's stories get to me. Probably the one about the hunter-killer patrols that they did while the clans were still at war._

 _As long as Wolfstar is still in charge, the cats won't completely ignore the Pact. It's like what the older cats say: he's too proud to openly break that rule. After all, they were created under the Stars, so StarClan witnessed the whole thing. And there's also Horsepelt…_

 _The other wildcats don't care about pets, the Pact, or us. Sometimes I even wonder if they care for the Stars. They've hated us even before they were starving; I don't need one of Panzer's stories to know that. I was brought in just nights after the war ended and, despite the Pact, have never seen our clans get along._

 _But he's different. It's like he takes all the best things I hear about Wolfstar, his determination, his pride, yet doesn't take his wildcat-before-others attitude. Longstar says he's just looking out for his clan, Panzer would think he's just being defensive and blinded by his own pride; I'd say it's a little of both. But Horsepelt is just as defensive of his clan as he is all cats. So many on both sides could learn from what he thinks, if only they'd listen._

Littlescent looked back up at the stone figure, which stood unchanging, still looking straight ahead at the ground. She shifted her posture slightly, resisting the urge to shake the dust from her fur.

 _But it can't be only him. LeafClan is massive. There has to be more than one that believes that every cat can live in peace. And more than one who doesn't trust their own pride over StarClan… no, that isn't fair._

Littlescent looked up at the stone Twoleg again, right into its eyes.

 _I'm sure you taught Twolegs not to think badly of different clans. Even if they used to be enemies. Longstar taught me that there are no evil cats and that clans do not got to war without reason. I bet there's a reason for your war and, for us, it's why the wildcats hate us. Well most of them, anyway. They killed us, we killed more of them. It makes sense when thought of like that. But what doesn't make sense is how those who were born after a war could still hate like they do now?_

Littlescent looked back at the entrance, which had swung open and near shut in the wind several times. The moonlight pierced the clear-covered holes on the top walls and onto the stone figure. He continued to stare blankly as Littlescent looked back towards it.

 _I bet you'd know. Twolegs live many generations longer than us; I bet you'd have the answer to that question. Larger, wiser, more powerful than any living cat. If only I could talk to you, I'd have all my answers… maybe…_

The small she-cat looked around before resting her head in her paws. She knew it could be a while before enough pets were gathered to spread the news. She closed her eyes, StarClan on her mind.

Littlescent jumped to her feet at a nudge to her face.

She stared into the large, orange eyes of the pet whom she sent to gather more of. She looked over behind the row she was in. The faces of many more cats stared back, crowding past each other to try and get a look at the clan warrior.

"Wow… how many of them are there?" Littlescent asked.

"As many as I could immediately get. These cats all come from this area beyond the clans and the immediate area around this nest."

"Good." Littlescent faced back towards the eager cats.

"If all of you could gather around me, I'd like to say what I have to say quickly to give you as much time as possible to spread the message."

In one massive bunch of jingling collars, tapping claws, and random mews the group of pets began to sit in front of where Littlescent was sitting. The tallest of them stood in the back, while the smallest of them, looking no more than a few moons old, sat up front. Littlescent looked up at the moon, dipping into full view of the clear-covered hole.

 _Well,_ she thought, _I wasn't asleep for too long. Still plenty of moonlight left._

Littlescent waited until she could see most of the cat's faces before starting.

"Hello, pets. My name is Littlescent, senior warrior of StoneClan. I'm here to offer you a chance to leave where you're at now and be relocated to a safer area."

The cats began murmuring amongst themselves, some of them staring at her while they did it. One of the shorter pets in the front, a grey tom, stood as the other whispers began to quiet down.

"You want us to just _leave_ where we're at?! To what? Send us to the outlying forests? Join your clan? To better manage us? To force us to fight your little war? Or maybe—"

"Settle down, Flaum," started a tall black tom in the back. "We don't even have a reason yet. Let the clan cat explain more."

"I know that's you back there, Karl," he responded, scouring the taller cats for him. "You _would_ be the one to want us to listen to a clan cat. And after _all_ they've done for us, too."

"Just hear her out. She came all this way, at least let her finish."

The small grey tom angrily sat back down as the other cats focused their attention towards Littlescent again.

"We're not asking without a reason," she continued. "We believe you're in danger where you live now. Terrible danger. Yellowstar, BreezeClan's leader, told me that the last message she received from StarClan was to rescue the pets beyond our borders. She's got to be closer to the Stars than any other cat I know. The sky-monster attacks are coming more frequently, and LeafClan has cut off your old escape routes to our territories. The rouges block our now unpatrolled Lower Territory leaving you trapped here, right?"

More waves of whispers rippled through the group, the orange-eyed pet watching the warrior nervously.

"They got Lap," a voice from the back said. "Those _wildcats_ carved our owner's symbol into her! She actually died from that. And clan cats are supposed to be merciful compared to the rouges. But those wildcats are brutes!"

"We can't just stay here and hide from them forever," another voice cried out.

"Yeah," another responded. "But we go out there and we've got rouges _and_ wildcats running around just one path away from us. We'll end up just like Lap! What makes you think we'd have any chance?"

Littlescent raised her paw, calming some of the cats enough for the rest to hear her speak.

"Let us handle the rouges. And, with the path we have planned, you shouldn't see a single wildcat."

"So," Flaum started, "your StarClan told us that we're all going to die if we sit here? Your _dreams_ told you that?"

Littlescent resisted the urge to threaten the arrogant pet.

"Stop mocking the Stars," Karl responded. "Some of us actually believe in them, you know."

"So you do think we're all dead if we stay here?"

"Yes, it's likely," Karl said. "If the sky-monsters don't kill us all, like they have so many, the wildcats will get bored enough to come and kill us for fun… again. And I have no plans of waiting for either of those things. If the Stars warn us to move, we should move. Now's our chance."

The cats went back to murmuring amongst themselves until Flaum began waving his paw into the air, his small collar jingling with each movement.

"All right, fine. Let's hear what our 'savior,' Yellowstar, has in store for runaways this time."

The cats held their speech immediately and stared back at the brown-spotted warrior.

"Well," she continued, "Yellowstar told me that you don't have to join one of our clans. Once you are in our territory, you're free to leave for the outlying grasslands if you want. There are Twoleg warriors there who would probably take care of you."

"What about those of us who don't want to live in this Twoleg war anymore," one of the pets said. "Who want protection from the wildcats?"

"You join with us, of course," Littlescent responded. "Both Breeze and StoneClan are always accepting pets who are willing to learn and live the ways of clan cats. Yellowstar told me she doesn't want to force you to move, but she feels you're in too much danger to stay here. And I agree with her; I would like you all to come with me to the clans. There you can be safe, fed, and trained to defend yourselves."

Flaum jumped to his feet again in protest.

"You say we can join the clans, but _can_ we? Even if your clans accept us, we're nothing more to you than kittypets."

"That's not true," Littlescent said. "I was just a runt of a stray litter when StoneClan took me from my mother. Now I'm a senior warrior with many friends I am proud to call clanmates. Plus most of you are bigger than me. So I'm sure you can do it, too."

The cats began whispering around, waiting for one of the more talkative ones to speak.

"That's right," said Karl. "Most of StoneClan is still made up of the pets that founded it many moons ago. They were some of our friends, littermates even, before the war started. And they still stand now, even after we called Bonbon's clan suicide."

"What about the fighting?" Flaum turned his head to challenge Karl. "What about the wars? Constantly risking our life? Having to fight wildcats, _especially_ having to fight wildcats."

Karl turned to face Flaum. "They beat them in a war while they were just a band of pets led by a smarter pet. We were both around to watch them fight back."

"But they were led by Bonbon," the smaller pet responded. "She had planned on leaving her Twolegs for moons and starting the clan. She fought and died to form a clan that's _still_ weaker than LeafClan. And, if I remember correctly, _you_ didn't want to join her because you were scared of wildcats."

"Yes, that was then. I was, and still am, afraid of wildcats. But I would choose a risky clan life over certain death any time. When Bonbon was alive there were no sky-monsters to worry about. _We_ weren't dying. They were. But now we're going to die if we stay here."

He looked away from Flaum to address all the cats in the large group.

"If what Yellowstar says comes from the Stars then I, as a believer in StarClan, believe it's true. It has to be… I'm going to side with her. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'll take my chances with the wildcats and short food supply than with those winged giants we can't even see half the time!"

Before the cats could speak amongst themselves again, Littlescent put up her paw to get their attention for her final words.

"That's basically it. Our clans think you're in danger if you stay here. And, even if you don't join clan life, at least we know you're safer than where you were, and that we've fulfilled a request from the Stars. I'll be back here when the next moon is in the highest point in the sky.

"There is no limit to how many of you can come. Just meet here for those of you who are. And those of you who stay, I say good luck and may the Stars be with you… you can go now. That's all I had." Littlescent laid down where she sat.

The cats erupted in loud conversations and arguments. They were asking each other questions and their opinions about the StoneClan warrior as they began bunching into the center aisle, quickly walking towards the entrance. As the group cleared, three cats were left. The orange-eyed pet, Karl, and Flaum were all standing.

"Are the rumors true?" Karl asked. "That the Stars have been silent this whole time? That Yellowstar, Panzer, or Mousetail have heard nothing new since the war ended?"

"Yes, it's true. No clan cat has heard anything from StarClan since our war ended… I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," he responded. "We'll let the will of the Stars be. No matter how long ago they said it, they still said it. So it must still be true… I hope you come with me, Flaum."

Karl began walking towards the entrance with the other cats. Flaum narrowed his eyes at the warrior.

"I'll tell the ones who didn't show what we've heard here, just as you said it. Let _them_ decide if they want to follow you and your clan to their deaths." He turned away from Littlescent and quickly darted after Karl, leaving the small, orange-eyed she-cat alone with her.

"I… I think I'll go with you," she said. "I also came from a stray litter around this area. And my Twolegs and their kits ran away from here because of the sky-monsters. I think I should, too. I don't want to keep living as a stray."

"I'm glad," the warrior responded. "I'd hate to see other cats die because they didn't know what was coming. Tell as many others as you can."

"I will."

As she began walking away, Littlescent sat up and shouted back.

"And what's your name? You never told me."

"Oh… it's Christa. That's what my Twolegs named me."

Littlescent nodded her head at the brown-spotted cat as she ran around the corner and towards the open entrance, leaving Littlescent alone with the large stone figure standing in front of her. She looked into its unmoving eyes again as she heard the entrance creek back and forth in the wind.

 _Let's hope that Yellowstar's wrong,_ she thought. _I want the pets to be safe where they're at. I want LeafClan to accept them just as our clan has, but that's never going to happen._

 _If I'm to be tasked with teaching these cats, then I'll teach them not to fear the wildcats. I'll teach them that the wildcats aren't bloodthirsty killers. That they're just larger cats… influenced by fighting long ago. Fighting that, I pray, never happens again. Then we might be able to do what Horsepelt wants… to live in peace._

Littlescent hopped down from her seat and walked towards the entrance, taking one last look at the stone Twoleg before leaving.

 _If these pets are taught not to fear wildcats, then I can prove to the rest of StoneClan that we can't keep instigating conflict. Hopefully, Horsepelt is also trying to teach his clanmates that we are not heartless as Bonbon's combat tactics make us out to be._


	12. Chapter 11

Littlescent stretched her hind legs as she slowly walked up the steps to the roof of the camp. Her eyes squinted at the bright sunlight that burst through the cloud and smoke patches. She cursed the bright light under her tongue, but she decided it best to eat something and stay awake until her assignment that moonhigh.

She found it hard to get much sleep, knowing the LeafClan warriors were not going to back down from their patrol of her own clan's territory. Getting to the Twoleg prayer-nest and back took the greater part of her time, and she looked forward to not having to do it again.

 _The whole trip could've been for nothing,_ she thought. _I could've_ died _if it was any other cat around that corner. The Stars gave me Horsepelt though; talk about luck._

Littlescent gripped the mouse tighter in her jaws as she bounded up the steps to the roof, the corner of the steps brightly laminated by sunlight. After rounding the corner, she hopped over the last step and into the warmth, squinting as a gust of wind blew past her face.

She looked around at the pile of thundersticks and small rocks, some propped up against the edge of the raised ledge.

 _I hate seeing those things from below. Always reminds me of what they can do… and I'm glad I've only seen them in practices and tests. Hopefully never on another_ _—_

"Hey Littlesleep, wake up and eat that mouse!"

Littlescent quickly noticed the blue-grey medicine cat standing with Sharptooth. She hesitated, but slowly walked towards her superiors.

"How did it go last night?" Sharptooth asked. "I was asleep when you came back, and Longstar personally went to see Yellowstar before I woke up, so I haven't heard a thing about it."

"Yeah," Panzer added, "how did those dumb kittypets do without my wonderful wisdom and guidance to keep them out of the jaws of wildcats and safe from rat bites?"

Littlescent dropped the mouse at her feet.

"I spoke to a lot of them. Looks like they're pretty torn about if they want to leave or not. But I think I convinced them to my side… at least the ones that are afraid of sky-monsters or being abandoned by their fleeing owners."

"Ah, typical kittypets," the medicine cat said. "Always afraid of their surroundings. Just a matter of what they're more afraid of; wildcats, or sky-monsters. Struck by the lightning and fire those things drop, or clawed to death by leaf cats. If they were smart, they'd fear the thing they can't stand against instead."

"I thought you didn't want us to go get the pets?"

Panzer pointed towards her neck with her tail. "I can't hate them that much. I used to be one, you know. Seeing a bunch of cats die isn't fun, but _we_ can't afford to take them in. And neither can those breeze cats."

Littlescent closer approached the pair as they stood on the ledge, relaxing to Panzer's softer words. The wind blew again in a quick gust forced her eyes shut before returning to a steady flow.

"It's windy today," Sharptooth whispered.

"Hey, blood-luster," Panzer responded. "If you're going to say something, say it loud enough for the rest of us."

Sharptooth's ears perked up towards the sound of a faint hum in the distance. A long, black shape appeared, over the river beyond the Lower Territories. The continuing smoke plumes there caused it to dip in and out of view.

"Do you have a plan to help the pets get out of there without passing wildcats?" the deputy asked.

Littlescent's eyes were fixed on the black shape moving swiftly in the distance.

"Yeah. I'll do what Yellowstar suggested, and move solely through our Lower Territories. I don't like it any more than Longstar, but I need more than just a few warriors to block off the rouges. Patrols say they're getting more aggressive with hunting. And they'd defiantly attack if it was just me guarding the pets; they'd give Longstar something to listen to, then."

"I still don't like this," Panzer said. "Of all the cats to help them, it had to be us. We're about to unleash more kittypets in our territory than our clan has cats. They'll starve. Get killed by wildcats. Or worse, _we'll_ start starving because of them. Or the wildcats will wise up and just walk in and say 'that's it, we own this place'. Then we get a bunch of useless pets _and_ no camp."

"He's just doing what he thinks is right," Sharptooth responded. "I don't agree with it, but I do think it's something Bonbon would do."

Panzer hissed. "There's no telling what she'd do now. She's dead. He thinks it goes back to her and the clan's formation, which it does, but that was still then and this is now. Without the Stars walking in my dreams I don't know what's going to come of this. Neither does Yellowthing. For all we know, we could be further fulfilling Mousecat's old prophecy of destroying our clans!"

Littlescent looked away from the humming sky monster in the distance and back at the ranting medicine cat.

"You really think this could destroy the clan?"

Panzer scoffed. "From their point of view, _we_ have the nerve to move near _their_ borders, especially while food on their side is scare. Her prophecy did say our existence would be everyone's undoing, or something like that. And she got that prophecy before they ever moved out of the forest, before Bonbon was even born! Who do you think they're going to trust?"

Littlescent thought of Horsepelt, and how he told her he was forced to eat to keep up with patrols and hunting while most of his clan starved. She knew adding more pets would make hunting her clan's territory even less gainful. And they barely found anything when they did.

Littlescent looked back at the mouse while thinking of what to say.

"Take a good look at it while they last," Panzer said. "We used to be able to leave the scraps out up here and catch the birds that try to scavenge. Now we see more sky-monsters than birds. They mate fast, but we'll hunt them out even faster with pets _and_ wildcats looking for them. After that, it's all over."

"What do you two think?" Littlescent asked. "Do you think what we're doing is the absolute right thing? We might hurt LeafClan more than I thought if they've been desperate enough to openly seize and guard our territory."

"Stupid," Panzer spat, "I've told you that already. I don't like any part of this. I think it's just the wrong time to be doing this. That should be answer enough for you."

The small warrior turned towards Sharptooth. He looked over at the dead mouse that lay nearby.

"I guess there's no way of knowing exactly what Bonbon would do in this situation," he said. "But Longstar was close to her, so I trust his decision. If he thinks it's right, I trust him."

Panzer shook her head. "Right doesn't mean good, Sharpthing. We did plenty of things during the war that were right for us but horrible for everyone else. I don't want to see the clan fall because we blindly followed the 'right' path, just as Yellowthing blindly follows the Stars."

Panzer stood and arched her back. "Hate 'right and wrong' talks. Never go anywhere. I'm going to see Fleetheart. Make sure she's not slacking off with Wolfcat and that short-pawed apprentice of his."

She turned and slapped Littlescent across the face with her tail. "And eat that stupid mouse already. Before a _sky-monster_ comes and snatches it up."

She began making her way to the entrance leading to the lower levels as another sharp gust of wind rocked the mouse side to side, leaving the two cats alone.

"It's much easier to do this if you feel it's right," Sharptooth said. "Think of it like this: we're lucky that we have all the prey. With LeafClan moving into our territory looking for some, we could ultimately end up just like them. But if you're having doubts because of LeafClan, and not because of our own well-being, then I think you're most like Bonbon out of all of us."

Sharptooth hopped off the ledge and padded towards the steps. He turned back at the sound of a sharp pop somewhere towards the Lower Territory. A plume of smoke quickly rose in the distance from the area.

"If you're taking the cats through there, watch out for those things. Hot air hurts you more than anyone else. Have the pets go around your route; don't take them though heat and risk yourself just because it's faster."

He hopped through the entrance and down the steps, leaving the grey cat alone with the dead mouse. Littlescent went back to staring at the single-nosed sky monster, now closer, as it drifted past the large spire in front of the Twoleg prayer-house.

 _I help the pets, it puts both our clans in more danger. I don't help the pets, they die off or become LeafClan trophies… maybe Panzer was right. The pets could run off for the fields beyond this place's limits. Find a way to survive. Ideally away from the sky-monsters._

 _The pets could come to our clans and most likely starve like the wildcats. They would strain our food supply; they could cause our whole clan to starve. Worst part is they're a threat to the wildcats. Once they figure out what we've done, after it's too late for them to react, they'll be no chance for peace. Everything Horsepelt stands for would be for nothing. And all because we decided to help some pets._

The hum of the single-nosed sky-monster drew closer, flying high directly over Littlescent's head. The long, dark shape clearly showed itself as it flew in her view of the sun.

 _Or they can stay… ignoring an overdue warning from the Stars. And they could all die. And it would be all our faults for not doing anything about it…_

 _From what I saw, they had given up on leaving. And they probably wouldn't have thought it if I hadn't come in and told them we would help them. I don't think I could watch by while they died… I did help convince Longstar to go along with it. It's the right thing to do._

 _Horsepelt agrees that we can't just let cats die for no reason when we have the means to save them. I don't know how he'd take it if I told him I let pets slowly die off to keep our clan's bellies full a bit longer. That sounds horrible. The Stars would scorn me for the rest of my life!_

Littlescent looked up at the dulled blue, the sky-monster out of view. She closed her eyes as the cool wind flowed through her short fur.

 _I'm sorry for thinking like that, Bonbon. Your clan is about more than our own survival. It's about helping others get a fair chance at life… just as Panzer gave me._

She opened her eyes as a gust of wind forced her to cover her eyes. When she opened them, they fell on one of the thundersticks hanging over the corner of the area. The shiny fake-claw on the front gleamed in the sun, its very appearance causing a lump to form in her belly.

 _I don't ever want to see one of those dropped for myself, not after what Sharptooth told me what they do to cats. By saving the pets, could it ever come to that? Does helping them have to cause violence?_

 _I hope Wolfstar ultimately doesn't attack us. Then I wouldn't have to think about any of this…_

Littlescent braced the mouse under her paw and opened her jaw.

 _Panzer's right. I've got to start eating my food after I take it from the fresh-kill pile. I'll need all the strength I can get for tonight. There may never be peace if I get caught._


	13. Chapter 12

The sky glowed in the bright crescent moon, not a cloud in sight. Littlescent watched search-lights occasionally block its view as she walked down a small path filled with the rubble and charred objects from the nearby Twoleg nests.

The warm breeze flowed freely through the hollows of the once tall nests, reduced to nothing but the smoke-scented pieces that lay before her. The wailing sirens in the distance kept her light on her paws, the Twolegs just as on edge about sky-monsters as she was.

 _Can't smell anything in this mess,_ she thought as she carefully avoided the small, sharp pieces on the ground. _But Wolfgang and his patrol said I'd find more of them ahead. Maybe I should avoid this thunderpath on the way back._

She looked at the turn ahead. She knew it would go to the right, and then past three intersections. After that she'd make a left and would be near the Twoleg prayer-nest, where she could signal the waiting pets from hiding.

Upon reaching the turn, she found a small pair of yellow eyes glaring at her from one of the piles of rubble. A large and very thin cat emerged from it, his claws extended and his body turned to the side. His several large, furless patches exposed in the moonlight revealed his reddened flesh.

"So you're the mighty stone cat that's going to save all the helpless kittypets," he said calmly.

"Burn," answered Littlescent, keeping her composure. "This wasn't expected. I assume my clanmates warned you what was going to happen."

Burn narrowed his eyes at the StoneClan warrior. "Yeah they told me, all right. And I don't like it very much… tell me, just how many of them do you plan on moving through?"

"All who are willing to come with me," she responded. "I honestly can't say, but the siren's probably scared more of them into it."

The rouge retracted his claws but kept his menacing side-stance. "Didn't your clan go through so much trouble to _prevent_ adding more numbers? I mean you only have one queen, and in such a sizable clan… you moving these cats could mean that mine starve as you cut into our territory to get more food."

"This is _our_ territory," Littlescent said. "We only left because of the sky-monsters, and never intended on leaving for good. Once the attacks stop, we'll return."

The rouge gritted his teeth and hissed. "Poor Howard was completely _annihilated_ after getting hit by the two-nosed monster's thunderstick. Just flew past and there he went… you're not the only one with problems. Howard dies, along with his knowledge of this Twolegplace. We'll be struggling like the wildcats in a quarter-moon. Faster if you move those kittypets."

Littlescent approached Burn slowly. "A former pet who doesn't know this place? Why not come with me and join clan life? You get protection and food, and you wouldn't have to run from us anymore. No more problems."

"Ah, no way. Clan life is just about working for some stars and waiting for old cats send us to our deaths against the wildcats. You don't call us 'rouges' for nothing, right?"

 _Worth a shot,_ she thought.

"Besides, I've got cats to look after here. And that's going to be a lot harder. And that Twoleg siren's gone off five times already. _Five_ times. Just this night alone! And it's still going off _right now_. Tell me that is not a warning. Everything I've got to go on is telling me it's not safe just _being_ outside, right now."

"Well your superstition and the Stars seem aligned," Littlescent said. "That's why we're moving the pets to safety right now."

Burn faced his body forward and approached Littlescent, looking down to meet her at eye level.

"I'm real sick of your 'Stars,' and I'm sick of your attitude. Come onto _our_ territory, threaten _me,_ and now you're helping destroy _all_ of us. Making that Mousetail 'prophecy' from your stars seem real true right now. Try your best to keep your kittypets and your war out of our turf when it starts. You and your whole _blödmann_ clan _._ "

Littlescent looked right back into his eyes, unmoved by his threatening tone. "You're on our territory. Our problems are your problems. So why don't _you_ do your best to keep away from us while we work in _our_ territory, yes?"

The scarred cat growled at Littlescent as she harmlessly strolled by him. She never liked the rouges, and she felt proud of herself for telling their leader off like that. Before rounding the corner, she turned her head back at the rouge.

"And when this whole thing is done with LeafClan and the sky monsters stop attacking, we _will_ be sending you back to the Twoleg waterfronts… _out_ of our territory."

Burn shook his head and began hopping through the rubble.

"There's nothing for us there anymore. And I have the feeling there's going to be nothing for us here, either."

The thin, grey cat jumped back into the hole where he came out of. Littlescent turned back to her path, holding her head and her tail high.

 _That was fun. I never get the opportunity to talk to one of them face to face, let alone the leader. Still, I wish he really does join the clans. It would make things so much easier, and it would be one step closer to uniting everyone… now just to get Panzer to tell me what blödmann means. Knowing Burn, it was probably an insult…_

"Over here. Look this way!"

Littlescent waved her tail and her front paw in the air, the siren's warning muddling her cries. She caught the attention of a tall, black tom who was standing near the stone figure in front of the Twoleg prayer-nest. Karl's collar jingled in the wind as he motioned towards the nest. A large group of cats, all of different sizes, most wearing collars, ran from a nearby tree and towards Littlescent.

She moved out from behind the destroyed nest she was hiding behind to count her group, but there were too many. More than the amount of cats she talked to directly showed.

 _Well, at least they want to come along. That's good. Easily more of them here than in our whole clan… maybe even more than LeafClan's numbers._

The massive group bunched up around her, trying to hide amongst whatever was nearby. She curled her nose at their heavy scents, most too strong and sweet for her liking.

 _Good thing I'm taking the long way around. The wildcats could probably smell them from here!_

"Hey," she started. "You know you don't have to hide. I told you the rouges wouldn't bother you, and they've been dealt with."

A familiar brown-spotted cat shoved her way to where Littlescent was standing as the other cats began to settle down.

"There's a wildcat nearby," Christa said. "It wasn't safe for us to move freely around there."

"Probably a scout looking for my clanmates or food," Littlescent said. "Nothing you should be scared of."

"We thought so too," Karl called out from the crowd. "Until it started walking behind the prayer-nest. Those trees have a thick scent, there are fires nearby, _and_ it's windy, and they _still_ would've scented us out if another one didn't call it off. But since you've showed up there were too many of them for us to hide right. We were about to just run for where you're standing before you came."

As the cats settled down, Littlescent hopped up on a stone block and finally got a chance to get a look at the group of pets. She saw a massive group of cats looking at her, almost all of them wearing collars. Most were jingling around in the wind making a noise that was almost worse than the smell to her.

She noticed that most of the cats were younger than her, young enough to be apprentices. She saw a few cats carrying very young ones in their mouths and on their backs, noticing they were just small enough to get trampled. Her clan would consider them kits still.

 _Mouse-dung… I thought most of them would be Christa's age. I don't think I'll be able to move as fast as I'd like now. But as long as Wolfgang and Sharptooth's groups can keep my path clear, we shouldn't have any problems outside of delays._

"Alright, listen up," Littlescent said. "We're going to be moving through some dangerous areas. There is clear, sharp stuff all over the ground, lots of destroyed nests, and fires, some of them close to the path, so carry small kits. There's also a few Twolegs moving around the area."

"There's underground holes over there," Christa said. "Twolegs use them to hide from the sky-monsters during attacks… some of us are in them."

"I warned them against it," Karl started. "I've seen them opened by other Twolegs… and the Twolegs don't come out. It's rare, but sometimes the shelter gets directly struck by the monsters, or the Twolegs just die off from smoke."

The warrior nodded her head. "Well then I'm glad that you cats have decided to come with me instead. I'll tell you all about your options when we get to StoneClan's camp. Until then, try to keep the little ones close and _don't_ run from me. Other cats not with us are either StoneClan warriors or rouges. Just stay near me. And if you get separated, try to make it to camp. Some of you know where it is. Good idea to start passing that information around."

The cats nodded their heads in agreement. Littlescent saw the young ones getting restless and the older cats looking over their shoulders. She knew there would be more wildcats than the previous night, and figured she should move out of the area quickly.

She hopped down from the ledge, over a few smaller cats, and onto the thunderpath she had come from.

 _If that wildcat left the prayer-nest despite the unusual activity, then Wolfstar might have told them to stay away from the areas the pets hang around. If they haven't shown themselves to me in force yet, it means they haven't found out about this. Good._

"We're going down here. Goes about nine crossings, then we turn left and go through a large, stone path. Once we are far enough down the path, we should be completely safe from possible LeafClan patrols and rouges. I doubt they'd ever go _that_ far."

Littlescent slowly began walking down the deserted path. The large group of cats began walking behind her, most of them staying as close to each other as possible. A large she-cat with a much smaller and younger cat on her back began tugging at her collar.

"Don't be restless," the mother said. "We'll get there soon enough."

She noticed the look in the young cat's eye: hunger. He kept poking and prodding at her collar as she fell back into the crowd. Christa moved through the crowd and started walking next to Littlescent.

"Um… when do you think we'll get there?" She nervously looked around at the tall structures. "Some of the cats would like to know."

"I'd say it might take a while. A bunch of fires that started up long before I left made the original path I planned unusable, so we have to take the longest way back to camp. But we should make it well before sunrise."

"Okay… I'll just be back in the crowd if they have any more questions."

Something came on Littlescent's mind, so she looked back at the brown spotted cat.

"Did that striped grey one come along… Flaum?"

Christa nodded her head. "He's just too embarrassed to tell you… I think. He's somewhere in the crowd. Luckily, Karl convinced him to come with us." Christa moved back with the crowd, once again leaving Littlescent further ahead to lead them.

 _I'm glad he came along; thought I won't see him again. If a cat that hates the clans so much can get talked into it, then I bet there are plenty of others here who think like him. He probably has plans to leave this place once he reaches camp._

 _Once I get back, I'll show Yellowstar all the cats we have, with all different kinds of plans, all willing to trust in the words of the Stars... at least, most of them. There are more cats here than if there were eight_ _BreezeClans! I hope we can find a place for all of them._

 _Panzer's going to want to kill Yellowstar when she realizes how successful her plan_ _—_

"Hey, what are those," asked a young cat from the group.

Littlescent looked up. Her eyes widened; her tail curled between her legs. She could do nothing but watch the bright, yellow dots fall from the sky like leaves. They were coming down directly onto her, and in all the areas around her.

The siren's blares seemed to kick up. The search-lights multiplied. The sky erupted in crackles and flashes from the massive thundersticks below. Her ears flattened, useless at the noise of them. The hum of the monsters above made her heart pound as fast as it would.

"We need to leave now!" she shouted.

"What is that stuff?" one pet asked, barely audible above the noise of it all.

"The sky-monsters use it to disrupt the _Achse_ Twolegs somehow. Every time it's used, they never fight back. If this stuff is falling on top of us it means we're right under them!"

The crowd grew even more restless as they watched one of the flashing markers fall straight towards them. The wind blew it from directly overhead and it landed on the destroyed den they were standing right next to. The bright, yellow smoke it gave off hid all the stars around it from view.

Littlescent turned to address the crowd. "We need to move. Now! It's not safe here and we're still far from camp."

She began to speed forward, the pets following closely behind in one massive pack now. The screams of Twolegs were heard nearby. One of them ran across the path right behind the cats. Littlescent watched it run inside the prayer-nest and quickly shut the door.

A loud crack shook Littlescent head to tail. The fireball was large enough to be seen from over the spire on the prayer-nest.

The cats broke into frenzy. Having no trouble keeping up, Littlescent also started running. She made it back to the front of the pack and across the first intersection towards the corner.

 _I have to get back to camp. I have to lead them back. At this rate we'll be directly hit by them!_

Littlescent kept running across the intersection, catching a pair of lights in the distance. She knew it was the monsters with the thundersticks. She thought about their safety among their Twoleg defenders as the mass of cats bounded down the path through the Lower Territories.


	14. Chapter 13

_There's no way the Achse have been defeated. Not yet. We still need them!_

Littlescent was sprinting down the thunderpath. The last of her group struggled to keep her pace. They all made light steps to avoid being burned by the ground itself.

The path in front of them was lost behind the haze. The sirens continued their wail. The thundersticks were silent. The smell remained. Charred wood and plain heat. The sound of the sky-monsters was the loudest. The one thing that kept the cats running past their limit was their ominous hum.

A high-pitched whine caught their attention above it all.

 _A whistle. It's getting closer and closer…no, it's too close!_

"Look out," one of the pets shouted. "Another one!"

Littlescent veered left. "Into the rubble, now!"

The pets threw themselves into the twisted rubble. The whistle slammed into a nearby structure. The collapse drowned out everything. The heat wave forced the cats to cover their faces. It forced itself through everything , twisting their cover even further. The heated wind stopped.

The warrior opened her eyes. A collared cat was wandering down the thunderpath. It wobbled into an intersection, and spotted her.

"Hey! Over here," Littlescent shouted. "It's not safe out there. Hide, please hide!"

Its ears stayed flattened. The pet continued to stare at Littlescent, its eyes low. The pet tried walking towards the nearest nest rubble. A bright flash and glow of fire appeared beside it. Littlescent's view was blocked, but she felt the torrent it created.

The pet began to claw at the stone beneath. Clawing towards the Twoleg nest. It leaped towards the nest. The pet was sucked through the air mid-leap. The others gasped as its cry was cut short by the inferno. The glow only got brighter, and hotter.

 _My Stars,_ Littlescent thought, climbing from the rubble. _I've never seen fire so powerful!_

"How is that possible?" one of the pets shouted. "How can he just get _pulled in_ like that?"

"Everyone… everyone…" Littlescent's words slurred. Her vision brightened, and she stopped trying.

 _I need… all my energy just to… just to keep myself awake._

The others emerged from the rubble, each slowly stepping back onto the heated stones beneath. The torrent of fire around the corner grew. The air behind the structure was being sucked in by fire. The cats dug their paws in as hard as they could.

"Let's... go!" Littlescent said. "Not safe."

The pets just followed as she moved. She glanced around. An opening, all the way through the rubble. She saw no red or yellow through the holes. The fires had not reached the thunderpath on the other side.

"Through." Littlescent muttered.

She forced her way back through the rubble, only one paw in. then, frantic mews coming from her group.

"Wait!" one of the pets shouted. She was still in the rubble. "I-I can't get out. Help, please help!"

The warrior sprung towards the trapped she-cat. The torrent, even closer, almost dragged her in. The others, just four, struggled to remove a large piece of stone that had fallen onto her paw. It revealed another one crushing her paw and tail, twice its size.

"Help me please! It's getting hot. Help me!"

Littlescent shoved herself against it, pushing against her burning paws. Her chest was burning. She tried to ignore it, but her strength quickly faltered. The pet underneath continued to struggle. The scrapes of her claws drowned out the sirens and infernos nearby.

Littlescent began breathing heavy, all her attention turned to slowing it. She glanced up. The inferno was creeping from the roof on the other side of the path. It crossed a pile of rubble and to the structure she stood under.

 _I have to go… before it collapses. Before I get sucked in, too._

"What are you doing?" the pet shouted. "You… you can't just leave me here. You're supposed to protect me!"

She struggled in vain. The stone did not budge. But the glow creeped closer and hotter. The other pets were already moving through the rubble and into the structure, now burning. Littlescent coughed, the air searing her chest. She leaped through the rubble. Not taking a step before looking back at the pet.

"It burns, it burns, Littlescent!" she cried. "Don't let me die here! Hel—"

Her words were cut by the flames. She thrashed at the ground, squealing as loud as she could. The fire twisted her until she became limp, eyes fixed on Littlescent. They kept blinking, even as the large stone pushed forward, crushing her towards the thunderpath.

She gagged at the sight of the flattened pet. Not even her blood remained, boiling away as the fire completely consumed the thunderpath and the rubble.

 _I… I've never seen another cat die… like this._

Another whistle snapped her from her thoughts. It was close, not as close as the first one. But there were many more of them.

She charged through the rubble, through the shattered nest. It was cooler than outside but still too hot. She felt her paws grow light as clouds and her vision continued to worsen.

The whistles crashed into the inferno, the flames drowned out their thunderous crackle. A heat wave shot through the holes, followed by the wind. The inferno was burning the structure. Littlescent moved faster. She forced her body to leap through everything until it was out the other side.

 _Where… where did they go?_

She emerged into a thunderpath littered with debris. Her pads scraped but she forced herself to continue.

 _They'll die… without me._

The pets were gone. All but one, who lay in the middle of the path. His black fur had tuffs of smoke coming from it, ready to ignite. But he wore no collar, had no markings. Littlescent moved on, knowing he was dead. Flames were creeping from the far end of the path.

 _I can't watch that again…_

The inferno ate away at the structure she had come from. The color drained from it; it faded black quickly. The flames ate away and consumed all inside. Littlescent ran as fast as her body would let her.

It was heavy, but she struggled against it. The sirens' wail pushed her faster. The whistles of the monster's lightning strikes pushed her faster.

The inferno seemed to slow, just a little. She ran for any sign of her camp. The light haze was replaced by smoke. It flowed past her, itself being sucked into the inferno that created it.

She hacked up some of it, only having reached the intersection. She kept it up but forced herself to look around the corner. The inferno ate away at a massive debris pile. It would keep the fire from sucking her in.

 _The Achse are dying… just like the rest… this is their defeat._

The winds began to creep through the holes in the pile. They crashed against the warrior's body, reminding her of their power. She forced herself across the intersection. The wind was strong, but she was fast. The thunderpath on the other side was clear of fire, the nests yet to burn down.

"Camp… camp is this way."

The heat got worse. It only picked up with the smoke and ashes. Her body threatened to stop entirely. She forced herself alert. Forced herself forward. The pain only grew worse. It shot all throughout her legs. Her paw pads felt like they had melted away. She resisted the urge to pant amid the smoke.

Another round of whistles. The sky-monsters were not finished. They were further away, far up the path she was traveling on. It forced her to move faster. Stop, and die. She pressed that thought into her mind. Stop, and die.

But the storm of fire was beating her. Her chest forced her to pant, breathing in the smoke further. She could no longer feel the pads under her feet. Her legs would soon share the feeling.

She darted into the nearest, open Twoleg nest. It was still intact, and spared of flames. But as soon as she caught her breathe the orange glow creeped in behind her. She turned; her eyes went wide.

She found the path she had just left was the source of the heat. It burned darker than everything around her. Still bright enough to scare her off.

 _The thunderpath is on fire! How… how is that even possible… it doesn't matter. I just need to leave. If the thunderpath can burn, so can everything else around here._

The nest began to shake at a massive boom some distance away. The sirens in that same direction ceased their wails. But more whistles came down in its direction.

 _The nest won't stay up forever. Break's over._

The small warrior shoved her body through every tiny entrance and hole she could to move around the crumbling nest. The den was small, empty, no Twolegs, no cats. She charged through, her body beginning to heat up again.

She neared the end. Stopping to look back, she saw the flames creep on her once more. A light breeze sucked air in its direction throughout the nest. But she knew it was not the wind.

 _That infernos' made it past the rubble… I need to hurry._

She forced herself to keep sprinting until she ran out on the next thunderpath, near an intersection. More rubble, more fires. Not as much smoke. Littlescent shot her gaze towards the sky, swearing she saw a glimpse of the moon.

"Where are you? StarClan… please answer me. Please guide… me back to camp."

She thanked them when she found another open entrance. Like the ohters it was on the other side of the thunderpath. She ran across and into the nest. The warrior took in all the fresher air she could. It was quickly drained away by the inferno as it began consuming again.

She began running through, quickly darting between Twoleg objects. Her legs began to grow numb. She slowed her pace, just a little. Trying to keep her balance and her vision clear.

 _I can keep going through structures like this. Keep going across the thunderpaths without having to get to intersections. Eventually I'll make it back to the large path… from there, to camp._

She leaped over fallen rubble and out the other side of the nests. The area was dark. Only a few fires, no light, less smoke.

Littlescent crossed the thunderpath. The entrance was closed. The holes on both sides of them were closed off with wood. The Twoleg symbol embellished on the entrance.

Frantically looking around, she found only closed and covered holes. No ways of getting into the nest. She started down the path, faster as the glow began coating the alley. The breeze sucked the smoke from the fires in. It would take her soon.

More whistles, heading straight into the inferno. She stared up. Watched as the small, black weapons fell behind the nest and into the inferno. Their thunder shook the ground under her feet.

"Those sky-monsters… feeding the flames… want them to eat us all."

The thunderpath felt as it was sinking. She looked down, and then sprinted forward. The entire thunderpath split open. A pit of fire lay underneath. She curled her nose, hacking profusely at the foulest smoke she had ever scented.

Her vision blurred. No matter how she tried, it would not go back to normal. She pressed forward amidst her sight of browns and glowing embers. The smoke scent kept her coughing all the way to the intersection.

Once there, she poked her head from behind a structure. Towards the direction she had just left. The inferno was consuming a nest. The magnificent white forced her to look away, even with her darkened vision.

It was twice as high as any of the nests, covering even the black sky. The sucking winds tore through the structure as it ate it. It would take her in if she was not quick.

 _I need to cross!_

She backed up and charged forward. The intersection could be cleared in one leap. She sprinted to the furthest point, closest to the nests on the opposite side. She lunged into the air.

The torrent sucked her in. Her speed was just enough to make it. The warrior slammed against the structure on the other side, sliding to the ground. Her cries were deaf even to her own ears above the fires and sirens.

She pulled her tail away from the fire's direction as fast as she could. She clenched up, looking at the small bit of skin exposed. The bruise already began to form on her right flank. Forcing herself up, she limped down the rest of the thunderpath, slower.

 _StarClan I… I can't outrun it like this… I need help!_

She kept an ear up. It was filled with the hum of the sky-monsters and a few sirens. The rest was the inferno's feast. She listened for any Twoleg defenders, any thundersticks. None.

She continued to hobble down the path, stopping before another intersection. Poking her head around the corner she found a collapsed Twoleg nest blocking the fire's path.

 _That will give me more time. I need to hurry while I have a chance._

Her pace hastened. She ran past the next intersection, ignoring her agony. The wind still forced her eyes shut, but did not sweep under her paws. She continued, clenching her teeth even tighter. Her body forced her to slow down.

The Twoleg nests at her right already giving off heat, she looked to the ones at her left. One of them had an opening; a hole bored through its wall. She knew it would lead her to the thunderpath behind them. More distance between her and the inferno.

The top of the nets burned, the glow caught her attention. Even with the fire and sirens, she could hear it creak.

 _I don't have time for this._

She charged into the hole anyway. The nest's air was stale, but cooler. It had been sucked away, even while the inferno was further away.

 _That collapsed thunderpath could be adding to the inferno… for all I know everything under this nest could be on fire. I should hurry._

The heat in her body grew intense. It burned worse than the bruise on her left flank. She slowed to a limping walk. Her breathing was fast. She coughed and panted, taking in the slightly clearer air as relief. The nest was intact and open. No need to dodge or jump. She took the time to look around.

Most of the Twoleg objects were still there, where she would expect them. The wood walls of the dens were not charred. Even the decorative objects remained. Images of Twolegs lined the walls, most were next to their warrior's symbol. She continued limping through halls, ultimately heading towards the back of the nest.

She slipped, falling on a patch of blue on the floor. She got to her feet. A fresh stain of red was left behind. And the pain quickly hit her. She knew where it was coming from. She kept moving.

 _It's worse than I thought. I need to get back… see Fleetheart._

Heat pulsed from the higher floors.

 _The inferno must've run through the structure somewhere! I bet the thunderpath behind me is completely split open now… I need to move faster._

She turned another corner. The back entrance was in front of her, across the open den. She crouched, but tried not to sit. Afraid she would not get back up.

 _Another chance to rest. Quickly, though. Then, no more until I get back to camp._

The heat continued to creep over her. She looked around the room. Four sets of eyes stared back at her. The glow of a fire revealed the warrior to the Twolegs.

Two large, older ones were holding the two younger ones in their arms. They did not make a sound. Until one of the young ones widened his eyes and pointed at her.

 _Trying to warn them would be useless…_

"Schau, mama. Katze." the young one said.

"Ja," an older one said softly, "... ist es eine nette kleine katze."

 _I assume they're talking about me._

The light breeze returned. And it blew in the direction she had come from. The firestorm was gaining on her again. As the den heated, Littlescent raced through the back entrance.

"Aw, es ist weg," The young one said.

The sirens screeched in her ears again. The whistle of more sky-monster lightning strikes came in, landing into the inferno. The smoke was unbearable. Littlescent hacked up all she could from her belly before moving again.

She paused, resisting the urge to sit and lick her wounds. Her flank burned and continued leaking blood. Her head began to spin.

 _This is it… it's too much for me._

She looked up at the Twoleg nests across the path she was on. They were already burning on their far side, she could feel it. She limped as fast as she could down the thunderpath. She would have to try and make it around.

The intersection was close. She hobbled all the way there, trying to keep balanced. Her vision was still clouded, her legs were numb now.

On reaching it, she looked left. Only a few fires, but no nest fires. And to her right, a structure that had completely fallen into the thunderpath. And the inferno. It still threatened her all it could. The sucking wind pulled at her fur. The orange and white mass dominated her vision. And it was eating all the structures around it.

 _It's moving faster. I need to move faster._

She took a few steps down the left thunderpath. Her leg kicked something.

She looked down, a large, grey blob. But it was soft, it's fur waved with the wind. The blob was in a familiar shape, and she nudged it again.

"Hey… you okay? You need… to get up."

The cat gave no response. It swayed in the wind now. Littlescent leaned down and licked the grey cat. It still did not move. The wind picked up. The warrior hopped over the body as it slid towards the inferno.

 _I can't tell if it's a StoneClan warrior, a wildcat, or a pet… whoever you are, may you find peace in StarClan._

Another hissing whistle drowned out the sirens. It crashed, booming directly into the firestorm. The wind instantly picked up. The grey cat flew towards the firestorm. Littlescent stuck her claws against the stone with each step.

She crouched low, clawing at the stone, crawling forward. The heated stones attacked her wounds. Each step was like standing on embers to her. The warrior's flank burned even more, bled even faster. She could hardly breathe over the wind. It almost forced her eyes shut.

She slid away from blobs of orange. Continuing away from the inferno. Its glow lit up the whole thunderpath. She crawled even faster, clawing even harder as she stood a little from her crouch.

Another intersection passed through, a small one. The wind still pulled at her, threatened her. She kept going, past more red blobs of fire.

 _It's not far enough,_ she forced herself to think. _It's not far enough. The firestorm will still eat me from here. I need to get further away!_

She continued, forcing herself not to limp. Forcing her bad leg and flank to move normally. She nearly started running down the thunderpath, a shorter one. All the way to the next intersection.

 _It's not far enough… it's not_ — _ach!_

She slid, dropping flat on her belly. Straight onto a sharper object. But that pain was numb to her, compared to the rest of her body.

Tuffs of fur floated away from her body, singed off her skin by the air alone. Her head pounded, forcing the sirens and the sky-monsters away. Her ears just buzzed, useless. And her body was numb, sore to each movement. Her vision had failed her. Everything was just blobs of colors.

 _I won't look back… not at my death. Not at certain death._

She got up, the strength in her to just fight the wind and turn left. Left into another thunderpath, devoid of fires. She nearly ran into a large, light brown blob. It had a large object sticking out the front, and it was cooler than the ground. And it was hard. Her paw rested on it, and she looked up.

 _A Tiger… the Twolegs must have abandoned it, left it to die._

The tops of the nests around her began to glow. Whistles followed, straight into the firestorm, again. Pieces of rubble were blown off by the breeze. It did not take long for it to pick up. Even shielded by the Tiger and a structure, Littlescent felt herself wobble in it.

She looked down the thunderpath. It was dark, aside from the glow of small fires. No cats, no Twolegs, no other monsters. Only the rubble of failing nests gathering in the middle.

Littlescent lifted her nose to the air.

 _I can't even smell smoke anymore… not that I'll be needing my nose anymore. I'm trapped here by my own body. Just like this Tiger._

Her vision continued to fail her. Her numb legs no longer warned her of the heat below. The breeze flowed through her fur. The only thing she could feel. She no longer felt tired. Only defeated by the storm.

She used the last of her strength to leap on the side of the monster. She settled for falling between the rollers and the underside of its body. She could not feel the coarseness or the ash it was covered in.

 _It's surprisingly cold._

She relaxed her muscles. Allowed her tail to fall off the side.

 _That's either my body playing tricks on me, or it actually managed to stay cold. Tt doesn't matter how. I'm just glad I'm comfortable… not that I deserve it._

 _I can't smell my singed fur. I can't feel the heat, or the breeze. I can't scent anything. My body is exhausted. Relying on the Tiger to protect me… Panzer says the only thing that can break it is another Tiger or a sky-monster. But what about a storm, completely made of fire?_

 _I'm sure it won't break. Not that it matters. I'll be dead no matter what happens to this thing._

A break in the smoke. The orange glow seemed to pull back just a bit. Littlescent looked up at the search-lights. Only a few remained. She could not even hear the sirens. Only the torrent of fire rushing towards her. She knew the sky-monsters were still attacking.

The warrior rested her head in her paws, eyes towards the red sky.

 _I'll be able to see all the territories when I get up there… what they sky-monsters have done to them. I'll get to see where our clan goes next, if they survive. Where some of the pets hid to, if any of them survived. What becomes of LeafClan… what Bonbon thinks of what we tried to do._

 _Would she still call me a savior? Would she think our clan has lost its way? Would she be proud of Longstar for approving it… scorn me for not stopping him? For speaking up and talking him into it?_

 _Will I hear her say 'you're the closest one to me'? Would it mean anything if StoneClan is destroyed tonight?_

 _The sky-monsters did it. The most powerful things I've ever seen. I would ask her why they have left us at the mercy of them. And Bonbon would answer my questions… I'd have to show her how the sky-monsters ruined everything. How the Twoleg war ruined everything, not LeafClan._

She closed her eyes.

 _And I would be forgiven for my failure… and free to die in peace._


	15. Prophets, False and True

"What are you doing? You can't just leave me here!"

 _I… I'm sorry._

"You're supposed to protect me!"

 _I need to get ou—_

"It burns, Littlescent! Please don't let me die here!"

 _No! You won't die here. I'll get you out, just hold on._

"Help it burns it burns it burns! Get me out of here!"

 _No wait! I'm sorry! I should've found a way… I should've found a way…_

"I should've… found… a way…"

 _Am I in StarClan… the Place of No Stars? It feels more like that. But there's someone else here. Could it be…_

"Bonbon… I'm sorry. I should've found a way. There's… always a way."

"Just rest now, Littlescent. You're safe… I'm just so glad you're safe."

 _I can't see the Stars from here. It's cold, dry, but there are others here… maybe I'm still lingering between life and Silverpelt. Whatever it is, I don't want to go. Not unless I can speak to Bonbon. Not unless I can tell her sorry for failing._

 _Not unless those I lost are up there, waiting for me. With praise or scold, I would meet them. They deserve an apology… no matter what they think of me._


	16. Chapter 15

The light shined though the small holes on the side of the wall. The warm air was fouled with the scent of smoke and dirt. The same smoke that lingered after fires.

Littlescent opened her eyes. She looked at the many cats around her. She felt something brush against her flank. Struggling to lift her head, she glanced at the warm purring body of the medicine cat apprentice resting against her. She let her head fall back to the ground, ears ringing.

 _How… is this possible?_

"You're awake," her somber voice said. "That's the Littlescent-types for you. Tough enough when they need to be."

Littlescent forced her eyes open all the way. Realizing her mistake, she hopped to her feet, jumping over the crowd of cats lying in the den. She leaped out the back entrance and sunk her head towards the ground, gagging. Fleetheart watched the black and red paste fall from her mouth, her belly twisting in pain.

"Good," she said. "You needed to do that, anyway. And Panzer will thank you since you made it out of the den to do it this time. Some of the others got their senses back, and it's not exactly a patch of—"

"What happened?" Littlescent said.

Fleetheart stopped talking. Her head and tail dropped to the ground, losing its usual bounce.

"Fleetheart, what happened? How am I still alive? Where… where are the pets?" She gripped her head in vain to suppress its throbbing. "Did they make it?"

Fleetheart looked up from the floor and into Littlescent's dull eyes. She walked up to her and looked around before speaking.

"Well," she whispered, "to start with, you've been out for three nights. You slept through two more sky-monster attacks; one of them was another fire and lightning storm, but it was well beyond even LeafClan's territories, and wasn't as big. Still, three nights and two monster raids…"

Littlescent lifted her head away from the red and black paste she just spewed out, but kept her eyes on it. A warm breeze came, carrying a scent strong enough for her to pick up. The smoke filled her nostrils, almost making her gag again.

"How is that possible?" she said. "I'm sure I can take more heat than that. I've been near fires before."

"Not as long as that," Fleetheart said. "The pets could take more of it than you, since you can't cool your body. The second you started panting, you started dying. After you passed out, Heavyclaw said he found you on a dead Tiger after searching for pets and took you straight to me."

The apprentice nuzzled Littlescent's cheek. "I was so helpless. We almost lost you several times and Panzer said there was nothing we could do besides giving you water to make you vomit. For three nights I watched you. I never left the den once. But you came through. It was all I prayed for."

Littlescent began to examine herself. She looked down her paws and felt they were covered in small scratches under her fur. She looked back at her right flank. Her fur was singed very short there, and she felt her burned skin throbbing slowly underneath.

"We pulled some slivers of those clear rocks from you. And some more slivers of sharp rocks. You fell hard on something. But it's not too bad. The burn's acted as its own pain reliever. You won't feel much there… or grow much fur there, anymore. You shouldn't push yourself. Your body isn't ready for a fight or something like that."

"Okay," Littlescent responded as she walked back towards the entrance to the medicine den. Fleetheart stepped in her way.

"I think… I think we should go around through the front entrance. The cats in here should rest. Also, Longstar wanted to see you the moment you woke up."

She tried looking over the apprentice's shoulder. "There's so many in there. Something's wrong with them all? Are any of the pets in there?"

Fleetheart began walking along the side walls, motioning her friend to follow. "A few. But I really think Longstar should tell you about that stuff. I just… I just can't. He'll tell you everything."

Littlescent fought her lightheadedness and followed her to the front entrance. The usual perk in her step was gone. Her long tail dragged behind her.

 _Her head's been down since I got up,_ she thought. _It's almost like her spirit's been crushed. This must be bigger than I thought… and worse._

The pair walked up the last set of steps to the roof of camp. Littlescent curled her nose at the ash that littered the ground beneath her. As they stepped in it, their paw prints were neatly left imbedded in the ash, just like mud.

Littlescent looked at the opposite end. Longstar's tail was blowing over the ledge with the wind. His dark-striped fur was covered with the ash. With each gust of wind, more of it stuck to him. But he just stood there, motionless.

"Longstar," Fleetheart started. "Littlescent's awake. I have her with me."

"I sent Panzer back to the medicine den," he responded. "We're alone up here, for now."

The pair looked to their left as they walked towards Longstar. The structures that used to block the view for the rest of the Lower Territories were gone. Just their skeletons remained. They could not see past any more than that, their view obstructed by a thick cloud of smoke. At its base, a familiar orange glow.

Even with her hazy vision, Littlescent could still see what was happening.

"Those… those nests are _still_ on fire?"

The leader nodded his head. "The Lower and Upper Territories have been burning since that night. Everything's still on fire. The Twoleg's can't put them out, so they left."

"What do you mean 'they left'?" Littlescent hopped on the ledge next to Longstar, almost falling off in the process. Fleetheart hopped onto the ledge, letting her friend lean on her.

"Careful," she said. "You don't have yourself together yet."

Littlescent shook her head to clear her senses; she blew her nose out several times to rid it of ash.

"Why are the Twolegs leaving? I haven't seen one since I've woken up, and a few usually wander around here… was the territory completely destroyed?"

Longstar nodded. "Their territory is gone. Even beyond our own borders. Beyond LeafClan's borders, their territory is all gone… they leave in massive groups. Every so often, one of those snake-monsters rolls in and takes them. So many of them have left. The cats that I've sent past our borders are saying every area, every nest, is deserted or destroyed. The only Twolegs we've seen in days are dead on the thunderpaths."

"So… this was bad," Littlescent said. "Worse than any other sky-monster raid we've ever been though. Worse than the attack that destroyed our old camp. How many of us are gone?"

Longstar looked out towards the smoke-filled Lower Territories. "Fleetheart, you didn't tell her when she woke?"

The grey and white cat looked at the ground below. "I… I just…"

"Never mind," Longstar responded. "You've been dealing with it for three nights now… I can't blame you."

Longstar still did not turn his head to look at the pair sitting next to him. He continued to look out at the small area in front of his camp, not a cat in sight.

"Many of us are gone," he continued. "Well over half our clan has joined the ranks of StarClan. Some are still missing. But we… we don't expect to find them. The firestorm left nothing behind."

Littlescent took a deep breath and looked down over the ledge. Below there was nothing but grey and black specks of where the ash fell. There were no cats. No patrols returning and leaving, none coming with stuff, not even cats lounging around.

Littlescent's ears sagged and her tail blew carelessly into the wind. She closed her eyes and thought a prayer for all the cats who were unable to escape the lightning strikes and inferno.

"What about the pets," Littlescent said. "What about the pets I was with? We… we got separated during the attack and… I saw a few of them lost. How many of the pets found their way out of that firestorm?"

Longstar shook his head as he responded, "Eight."

Littlescent tried to step down from the ledge and fell into the light overlay of ash. She struggled to her feet, trying to walk around without losing balance. Her breathing became quick and her eyes wide.

" _Eight?!_ "

"Two of them said they got separated from you when your group broke into frenzy. They said another pet, Karl, led one of the groups to safety. He happened to know where our camp was. They have now officially joined BreezeClan… they didn't have much of a choice."

"Eight?" Littlescent shouted again. "But… but there were so many of them. So many of them are gone. And it's—"

"Don't blame yourself, Littlescent." Longstar hopped down from the ledge, sitting right in her path. He looked into her green eyes. "It was my fault. I allowed this to happen. It could've all been prevented if I had just listened to Sharptooth… if only I had listened, he'd still…"

Littlescent took a deep breath and clamed herself down.

"What happened to him?"

"He's in a deep sleep… he won't wake up. He won't wake up to eat or drink, and Panzer says we can't keep force-feeding him… he's in the medicine den. You probably didn't notice him over all the other cats. So many cats in there. Some of them are already dead."

Littlescent tried to recall what she saw when she woke up. But all she could remember was a blur of greys and browns. All of them were cats. She stepped over the bodies of some of her clanmates, including her deputy.

"How?" she asked. "Do you know how it happened?"

Longstar glanced over the ledge. "He was with some of our warriors. They said they were inside one of the structures, trying to rescue a group of pets. It started to collapse; he was the last to leave. They pulled him out, but the fires got to him. He has severe burns all over his body, and hasn't woken since.

"Panzer says she's only been with one other cat like this. Apparently she died after seven nights… I don't like to think about it. What could happen to Sharptooth."

Littlescent stared back at the smoke plumes that surrounded her. She tried to measure how far the firestorm had gotten. From what she kept seeing, and from what Longstar told her, it was everything her fogged vision let her see.

 _Anything would be lucky to survive that terrible storm… so many of them, though. So many of them died…_

"There's more," Longstar said as he walked towards the ledge again. "If you're willing to hear it."

Littlescent shook the ash from her fur, letting a warm gust of wind wake her up completely. She could hear nothing but the breeze and the ash specks scratching together in it.

"Yeah… what else is there?"

Longstar walked back onto the ledge before speaking. "BreezeClan… Yellowstar reports that the four warriors she sent into our Lower Territories to help defend the pets have still not returned. She can't spare the cats to search for them… we think they didn't make it. This leaves Blueclaw as their only experienced warrior. Wolfgang is over there right now helping her teach the pets. Her clan is now just over ten cats."

"And there are the rouges," he continued. "One of our hunting patrols met up with Burn. He just said his group 'lost many' and left their camp. The last place our patrol saw them go was our old camp. Makes sense; it can't be burned down twice. I think they're moving there to stay low. We will not be seeing harassment from them anymore."

 _Burn warned me_ , Littlescent thought. _He warned me that this would be a bad idea. And now it cost him some of his own. Place of No Stars or not, cats are sadly dead. So I guess that just leaves…_

"What about LeafClan," she asked.

Longstar did not look at Fleetheart sitting near him on the ledge, or back at the warrior behind him. He went back to his somber stare at the darkened skies.

"One of our patrols caught a large LeafClan patrol in our territory, carrying the bodies of other wildcats. The bodies were unburned. Must've chocked to death away from the inferno somewhere. One of the bodies had the features of Wolfstar, same scars and same stripes. As far as we know, Wolfstar is dead."

 _Wolfstar? But how... how is that even possible? He was in our territory? A clan leader fronting a hostile patrol like that. Was his the one that scared the pets at the Twoleg prayer-nest?_

"It appears he went along with it," Longstar continued. "Even if he didn't know about the pets, he led in force to look for food that night. But I guess he only got smoke… it's a terrible way for any cat to go."

Longstar glanced over at the thundersticks that sat on the ledges around him, their shiny fake-claws dulled by the ash that swirled with the breeze.

"We don't know how many others, but we know that with Wolfstar's likely death, LeafClan will push harder for food than they have before. That night was already a turning point for them. Their leader was willing to personally see that his cats got food… and that they didn't go off needlessly killing us in the process. I have to assume that they are no longer following the Pact and will attack if necessary.

"If his death is true, it would be the first time that LeafClan has had a new leader. He's been with them since it was founded. It's hard to tell how Eagleclaw will lead a clan so close to starvation. Everything that Wolfstar had worked so hard to delay… we might be dealing with all of it at once."

Littlescent looked around at the neat rows of thundersticks lining all the ledges but the front one.

 _Could everything that Sharptooth worked for be happening? All those Twoleg weapons, all that fighting from the past. I hope Eagleclaw thinks about Wolfstar in his decisions. Maybe Wolfstar wasn't ever going to conquer our territory… I like to think he'd never go that far._

Another gust of wind blew some of the loose ash into the cat's fur. But none of them shook it off. Longstar continued to stare out onto the now empty area before him. Littlescent began walking aimlessly away from Longstar.

"This is so much to take in," she said. "What… what can I do to help?"

Longstar shook the ash from his face as it blew in the breeze again. "In your condition I would say rest. But this already needed to be done. I need you to confirm Wolfstar's death."

Fleetheart turned her attention to her leader. "But she can't leave. She doesn't have all her strength and she's still injured. Can't we just request another meeting with LeafClan?"

"I've tried," Longstar responded. "Heavyclaw has been sent every night since then to request a gathering. Each time he is chased away from their borders. Even the cats that roam our Upper Territories run from us when we approach. Either they lost just as many as we did, or they lost someone important.

"I really don't want to send Littlescent but, even in the smoke, a wildcat's nose is sharper than ours. That scent couldn't mask Heavyclaw, but it can easily mask her."

Fleetheart stepped down from the ledge, looking at Longstar from behind as he stared off into the distance. "But surely there's another way to get their attention. Littlescent hasn't even recovered her balance yet and… I don't want to come that close to losing her. Not again."

"Fleetheart," he said, "how many cats have come out of that medicine den?"

The apprentice immediately looked away from her leader. She sat in the thick pile of ash that covered the ground below them, looking around at the thundersticks and smoke plumes.

"She's the first among those with major injuries to leave, just the third to wake up. I couldn't do more. There—"

He scratched the ledge, silencing her. "It's not your fault. I'm the reason you ended up like this, Littlescent. I'm the reason for all of this. I want you both to know that… Littlescent, I need you. If only for a little while. I promise you that you will get the rest you need. Our clan will return to normal. As long as I'm still alive I will not let anymore StoneClan cats die."

Littlescent looked to her friend, waving her paw in front of her face to get her attention. "I'll be fine. Remember? Littlescent-types are tough when we need to be."

"That's not the reassurance I was looking for," she responded. "Just promise me you'll take it easy. You look like you could pass out at any minute."

"I'll be extra careful. No one will have to go get me this time."

Fleetheart finally looked content with her friend's answer. She got to her feet and began walking towards the steps.

"I should go see if Panzer needs help. She's been working nonstop for three nights… I'll be in the medicine den if you need me."

With that she ran down the steps and out of sight, leaving Littlescent and her leader alone on the top floor. A strong gust of wind stirred all the ash on the roof. Littlescent covered her face and looked away as the ash blew around. Longstar looked away from the breeze, but did nothing more as his fur became further stained by the wind.

Littlescent watched her leader sit motionless, his black-striped fur still covered in ash, his tail blowing carelessly in the wind. He occasionally set his sights in the direction of LeafClan's territory, and towards the old camp.

"Littlescent," he said, "I'll give you more details on what you need to do later. For now, just get some rest. And… remember what happened in that meeting. Remember how I allowed it. You suggested, but the decision ultimately fell to me. This whole situation was me."

Littlescent began padding towards the entrance to the steps.

 _He's had to have been grieving for nights now… I need you, Longstar. The whole clan needs you. I know you won't let us fall now._

The small she-cat slowly began walking down the stairs, leaving Longstar alone on the roof. He continued to stare around at his surroundings, only moving to shake the ash that blew in his face.

"All me," he whispered. "I know, Sharptooth, had I only listened. I knew and didn't listen. Please forgive me… all me. All my fault. I accept that."


	17. Chapter 16

The setting sun was darkened by the hazy cloud that hung over the sky. But the smoke was not the heaviest scent. The medicine den reeked of blood and strong Twoleg mixtures. Panzer held an open container in her teeth, gently pouring it over one cat's black and red paw. She gently set it down and covered his paw with a white patch.

Panzer shook her head at the cat's reaction. "You didn't feel that? That was supposed to burn as bad as when you got that burn."

"I just can't feel anything there," he said. "I can't even feel my own fur."

She grunted. "What, a bunch of ash get stuck in your brain or something? You _have_ no fur there anymore."

"Oh, right. I forgot…"

"Stupid tom," she spat. "Just make sure you get out with the first moonlight. And leave that patch when you do. Others will need it if they wake up."

The cat nodded his head and rested it on his good paw. Littlescent decided to look over at the cat's paw that was sticking out from the white patch. His pads were mostly blackened, his ankle completely so. His pink flesh was exposed in small patches between the brown and black burns.

She tried to avoid staring at her deputy, but she found it hard not to. Sharptooth slept in the corner of the den. His breathing was faint and he did not move. His burns were covered in patches, some of them pink and black from not being changed. She looked away, unwilling to think about what would happen to him.

 _So only I've walked out of here… at least there will be others by the looks of it. They should wake up once they've rested, like I did._

"Littlething, you're still here?"

Panzer pushed a roll of white patches towards a box against the wall, the familiar box with the 'X' shaped symbol on it.

"Don't you have something to do in their territory? Last thing you want is the scent of blood all over you."

"Well, you gave me that medicine to make me vomit again. I thought I needed to wait here for a while before I—"

She slammed her paw on the floor. "Idiot. The only thing you need to do is eat something before you leave. Not much to eat besides burnt mice, but better than nothing. Dealing with dumb cats all day in here, don't know a thing about Twoleg medicine."

"All right… Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"Yeah, bring me some quiet medicine den," Panzer snapped. "Now shut up and go eat."

Littlescent quickly padded out of the den, eager to escape the healer's harsh words. She walked towards the fresh-kill pile, glancing around at the empty room she walked in.

 _I can see them from here… those little black pellets are all burned up. Hopefully not all the way through. I haven't eaten anything since I've woken up._

She stopped when she stepped in something that stuck to her paw. She looked down to find a dark red trail leading back to the medicine den. She quickly looked back on the fresh-kill pile, gagging as she tried to not to remember why she hadn't eaten.

 _Ignore it, Littlescent… you've walked out of there now. All you can do is pray for the others and help the clan. Just focus on that. Focus on that right now._

Littlescent picked up a mouse, its charred body leaving a crisp and bitter taste in her mouth. She looked back at the blood stain, almost dropping the mouse. She quickly ran towards the front entrance and burst out into the open, the smoke in the air now thinner, but the area still holding its heavy reminders of what had happened nights ago. Blood stains still littered the clearing.

 _Fleetheart tried to keep me from seeing those ones on the floor… the fresh ones. But I guess there's no hiding from it. I thank her for trying, though._

Littlescent dropped the mouse and began tearing back its scorched flesh, spitting the pieces away. As she was about to eat, Panzer walked out from behind the nest and padded towards her.

"That dirt-for-brains Star-eyed cat has the _nerve_ to show up here!" she yowled. "I don't care what she's saying. I'm going to _show_ her exactly what I think of her and all of her ' _dummkopf_ Clan'."

Panzer's fur began to stand on end. Her narrowed eyes were fixed on the large thunderpath to the left of their nest.

"Wait, what's happening," Littlescent asked.

The medicine cat tossed her head side to side. "Someone told me that golden killer is coming here. _Here_. Just strolling in after all she put our clan through. All she put her clan through. Probably going to give us some stupid pep talk and some update on her clan. I don't care."

Littlescent saw a small, brown cat moving from the back of the nest. A small patch, held in place by white wraps, covered where her left ear used to be. Littlescent's head dipped when she realized it was Wolfgang's apprentice. Shortpaw quickly walked towards Panzer, franticly glancing around at her surroundings.

"Um… you ran off before I could finish the message," she said.

Panzer took a deep breath and looked over the small apprentice. "That second-rate job my apprentice did on your missing ear… how did you get that?"

Shortpaw stopped glancing around and looked past Panzer at the smoking Twoleg nests nearby. "I was with Wolfgang that night and one of the entrances to the nests blew open. It knocked me out, but he carried me back to camp… Fleetheart said I was lucky it was just an ear. And that the flames burned the hole shut so I wouldn't bleed out."

Panzer nodded her head, looking back at the thunderpath border near camp, waiting. "You were out to meet up with the pets. The pets that _she_ wanted _us_ to go find."

The apprentice pawed at the ground. "Well… I don't think it's her fault—"

"Look, Shortstuff. For four and a half moons' age, you've got a good head on you. But this whole thing was avoidable had that Star-eyed one kept it to herself. Right thing or not, look what she did. Now she's going to get it. So stand back and watch how revenge is had!"

The three sat outside, waiting for the BreezeClan leader to show herself. Littlescent glanced back towards the top of the nest. She could see the small figure of another cat sitting on the ledge, looking towards the same spot Panzer was.

 _He's still up there,_ she thought _. He's still sitting there, just staring at the damage. Longstar and Yellowstar have so much in common. I wonder if they are grieving the same too… I'll just have to do my best to stop Panzer if she doesn't calm down._

"There's my target," she hissed.

A large, orange-striped cat walked into Panzer's view from around the corner of the nearby structure. Yellowstar was alone; her usual entourage of Whitetail and Blueclaw absent. She slowly walked towards the group, her head lowered.

Littlescent slid the mouse aside, standing to be ready to catch Panzer if needed. Shortpaw tried to watch the situation; the patch partly covered her eye and made it difficult to see. She stood at the presence of a leader, ready to protect her from the growling medicine cat.

Yellowstar stopped – in pouncing distance – from Panzer. Panzer's fur stood on end. She struggled to keep her fangs hidden between her low growls. Yellowstar lifted her head, staring straight at her.

"I came here to speak to Longstar." Her voice trailed off, shallow. She constantly drifted from Panzer's glare.

Panzer began taking very small steps towards Yellowstar. "About what?"

She tried to avoid her gaze, looking up at the top of the roof where Longstar was still standing. "I came to… apologize for what happened. To him personal—"

"You have _a lot_ more cats to apologize to before him."

Yellowstar was still trying to avoid Panzer's gaze. "I… suppose I d—"

"Oh wait, no you don't."

The leader looked straight into her eyes.

"Oh you know why, Star-eyes. Go on. Tell me." Panzer was now a paw's length away from the BreezeClan leader, gritting her teeth. Yellowstar's tail curled up around her body. Her ears dropped. She lowered her head enough to keep her eyes on Panzer's.

"It is… Panzer, please. I do not want things to end up like this."

"No, no, no," Panzer shouted. "Tell me _why_ you can't apologize to our _whole_ clan? Tell me. Tell them. Tell Longstar why you can't." Littlescent watched Panzer expose her claws and fangs. Shortpaw crouched down, ready to pounce.

Yellowstar took a deep breath and raised her head to match Panzer's. She uncurled her tail from her legs and evened out her face with the rest of her body.

"We could not have seen this coming."

Panzer hissed loudly, quickly raking her claws across Yellowstar's face. She stumbled but held herself. Panzer thrust the back of her paw across the large cat's face again. Yellowstar lost balance and fell to the ground.

Panzer effortlessly avoided Shortpaw's lunge towards her, the small cat hitting the ground right in front of the Yellowstar. Littlescent already raised her paw over Panzer's head, struggling to keep balance. She turned back and hissed at the warrior.

"Stay out of this, Littlebrain! This is between me, her, and all the cats she helped kill."

"It's okay," Yellowstar said as she curled her legs under her body, shaking the ash from her face. "Just stay back, no matter what happens."

Shortpaw scrambled to her feet and hobbled next to the senior warrior. Obeying the two elder cats, they backed away. Panzer turned her attention back to the leader sitting in front of her.

"You couldn't have seen it coming? That's your excuse? It's _all_ your fault. It's entirely your fault! Your stupid Star-eyed 'hero' plan was just that."

The large, orange cat met Panzer's eyes. "There was no way of knowing this was going to hap—"

Panzer smacked her ear.

"You didn't need to know what was going to happen. You've seen what's been happening in the skies. Use your brain!"

Yellowstar watched Panzer's fur stand back on end. She did not even flinch when Panzer bore her teeth raised her paw over her head.

"I… I did not…"

Panzer smacked Yellowstar's face again. "You didn't _what_?"

"I did not… I—"

"Didn't _what_?" Panzer's claws raked her nose. Yellowstar closed her eyes and began shaking her head vigorously. Her breathing became quick and her solid expression frantic.

"It was just… I didn't see it—"

"Didn't see it coming?" Another swipe, across her exposed neck. Yellowstar curled her head down to cover the wound. "Didn't know what _you_ were doing? Did _StarClan_ not tell you what to do?"

"No," she whimpered, "I knew. I just—"

Panzer swiped her claws across her mouth. Yellowstar curled her muzzle and swallowed, trying to keep the blood from affecting her voice.

"It is just that we—"

Panzer slashed her mouth twice. Yellowstar began licking the blood that was dripping from her nose, trying to contain herself. She began shaking; her eyes went back to darting in different directions.

"Spit it out, Star-eyes! I have dying cats to treat because of you."

Yellowstar just looked at Panzer, just staring. Her tail had curled back around her. She was shaking even harder now. Blood trickled down from her wounds as her muscles tensed up, waiting for the next strike.

"Answer me!" Panzer screamed. Yellowstar didn't answer. She just stared in shock at her aggressor.

Panzer struck her again. And again. Each time across the face. She ran her claws across her mouth and nose. Yellowstar tucked her head away to try and avoid further attacks; it only made Panzer angrier. She stuck even harder at the top of her head and her ears.

Shortpaw ducked behind Littlescent, who just stood back as she was instructed to. She quickly glanced back up at their camp's roof. Longstar was gone.

"Don't you _hide_ from me!"

Panzer ran both her paws into Yellowstar' chest. She curled into the blow. Panzer rolled her over on her back, exposing her stomach. She tried to roll herself back to sitting position. Panzer shoved her left paw below Yellowstar's chest. Her breathing became raspy and her voice muddled.

"Sit still and answer me, Star-eyes!"

"I… I cannot hide—" she chocked on the last words as Panzer began striking her chest with her other paw.

"Answer me!"

Panzer continued to slash her claws across Yellowstar's chest. She flinched at every strike, unable to block them, still barely breathing. Panzer struck again and again. She kept striking until her paw pads were coated in blood. She stopped, loosening her pin to let the BreezeClan leader speak.

Yellowstar coughed up everything she had been holding back. She no longer resisted. She kept trembling and hacking up fluids. Her paws were shaking vigorously. She faced away from Panzer, closing her eyes and shoving her face as close to the ground as she could.

"P-please… please stop," she whimpered.

Panzer hissed as loud as she could as she buried her fangs into Yellowstar's shoulder. She screamed as Panzer continued biting and scratching her anywhere she could.

"I haven't seen that much death in my den since the war." she yelled. "Only this time they had a choice to stay safe. And _you_ took that away from them!"

Shortpaw quickly darted back inside camp. Littlescent leaped next to the medicine cat. Before she could move, Panzer kicked her in the side of the chest. The warrior staggered away, white dots clouding her vision. She nearly fell over trying to watch.

"Don't try!" Panzer growled. "You're weak right now. I'm not afraid to send you back to the medicine den."

Panzer continued her brutal assault, her blue muzzle now covered in Yellowstar's fur and blood. Yellowstar continued screaming and thrashing around as Panzer continued clawing her to pieces.

"You know why you can't apologize to our whole clan?" she hissed. "Because they're all dead! Everyone you owe an apology to is dead. Your regret for killing them is meaningless to them. You could apologize as many times as there are stars in Silverpelt and it wouldn't mean a thing. You killed so many! You've killed Sharptooth. And now you've killed Longstar!"

"Panzer that's enough!"

She removed her jaw from Yellowstar's shoulder and turned to look her leader right in his eyes. Longstar approached Panzer, who released her pin and turned towards him. Longstar glanced at the orange cat, her breathing heavy and her orange fur stained with her own blood.

"P…please… stop," Yellowstar whispered. "Please... I am sorry."

"'Sorry' wasn't what I wanted to hear. Know I wish I could personally take each and every one of your lives." Yellowstar did not move. She slowly curled herself up and buried her face in her paws. Panzer kicked some ash into her face.

"Panzer!" Longstar shouted.

She began walking away from the shaking cat on the ground, spitting a small chunk of flesh from her teeth. Longstar rushed to Yellowstar's side, quickly curling up near her.

Panzer looked down on Shortpaw, who was helping Littlescent stay upright. She was barely able to keep her eyes on the ferocious medicine cat.

"You don't have to be scared," she said. "I'm not mad at you for getting him."

The old blue cat then bit down on the patch covering Shortpaw's missing ear, sliding it out of its holding. Shortpaw's ear twitched around as she put her paw through the now loose sling around her neck, pulling down to help it cover the hole in her head.

"Get Fleetheart to tighten that when she gets back," Panzer muffled. "Don't move your paw around too much. You can still get sick from that."

Panzer twisted her head and threw the dirty patch near Longstar's face. "If you know half as much as Shortstuff here about Twoleg medicine, you'll put that on the only harmful wound she has."

Panzer left the scene, heading back towards the entrance to camp.

"And by the Stars eat that stupid mouse!"

Littlescent nudged Shortpaw away. She held the wraps tight over her missing ear and hobbled back into camp. Longstar was curled around Yellowstar, holding the used patch in place over her shoulder with his chin.

"Sorry… I am sorry," Yellowstar continued to say. "Please… please."

Littlescent picked up the mouse in her teeth and padded around one of the corners of the camp. She kept walking until the two leaders were out of sight.

She began panting heavily, regaining her focus. She looked towards the side of the structure. Yellowstar's cries continued to echo in her head.

Littlescent regained her composure. She stared down at the mouse, its insides open for her to see. All it did was remind her of that scene. She knew what she had to do that night, though. Littlescent closed her eyes and buried her muzzle in the mouse, trying to take as many edible parts as she could while her mind was off the Yellowstar.

Meanwhile, Longstar was still sitting with Yellowstar, holding the patch in place. His paw was draped over her flank as he tried to stop her from shaking, to no avail.

"I… am sorry," she kept whispering. "Just please… no more… I cannot do this anymore. Any of this."


	18. Chapter 17

_Confirm Wolfstar's death,_ she thought. _I just need to concentrate on doing that…_

The breeze was the most constant it had been since she woke. It was nearly pitch black, only the fires lit her way. The sky was filled with the scent of smoke from the breeze. She knew the wildcats would even have problems detecting each other, let alone the blood on her fur.

Littlescent walked from the front entrance to the camp and out into the warm, but polluted, night air. She rubbed a paw pad on the ash-coated ground, only to stop before covering it. The bottoms of her pads were still in some pain after walking on the superheated ground from the firestorm.

"Go easy on yourself, please," said Fleetheart as she stepped outside to see her friend off. "You're still in pretty bad shape."

Littlescent glanced back at the brown-pink flesh of her burnt flank, her grey hairs occasionally falling out.

"That means no running, no rolling around in anything, no jumping too high, no weaving through silverthorn, no fighting, and no scratching your burns while you're gone."

The warrior let out a heavy breath. "I'll be—"

"I'm serious." Fleetheart stared at her friend. Littlescent noticed her tail was not curling around as it usually did. She did not bounce, her ears were nearly flattened over her head, and her paws were bent, as if ready to pounce or flee at a moment's notice.

"Are you feeling all right?" Littlescent asked her friend. "Because I don't want to leave knowing you're in pain or something."

"If I was in pain, I'd know it," Fleetheart snapped back. "It's you I'm concerned with. So just do as I say and stay out of trouble… please."

Littlescent thought about what could put the grey and white cat on edge like that.

"Is this… about what—"

Fleetheart quickly darted back through the entrance to camp and out of view, leaving Littlescent alone. She started walking towards the front opening of the camp.

 _Walking away before I even get a chance to finish,_ she thought. _She's acting like I'm her newborn kit or something… I really need to talk to her when I get back._

The breeze grew weaker as Littlescent walked towards the front area of the camp. She stopped halfway towards the thunderpath border and looked at the trace amounts of blood – barely covered by ash – from the scene that took place earlier. She cringed, more than she had seeing the dying cats in the medicine den or the other new stains inside the camp.

She dashed away from the stain and continued towards the thunderpath. Littlescent briefly looked up at the sky. The black menacingly loomed over her, sucking away most of the light of the moon. Only with breaks in the clouds and smoke could she see it.

Littlescent looked both ways down the thunderpath for monsters and walked across. After going behind the structures on the other side of the path, she would be in LeafClan territory. One of the structures had been completely pulverized; it was nothing but a pile of dust amid the others. It was the nest Fleetheart said had taken a direct hit from the sky-monsters.

 _It will be my first time seeing LeafClan territory since that night. It must be terrible. They already lacked prey, and now what's left of it could be cinders… for our clan's sake, I really hope that wasn't Wolfstar's body the patrol saw._

Littlescent looked through the rubble to try and find a way up. Next to the pile, she saw that the second floors of the two surrounding nests were hollowed out. She could get inside and walk from structure to structure until finding a set of steps to climb down. She would avoid LeafClan patrols altogether.

She took another look around her to make sure she was alone, and hopped onto a stable part of the dust pile. She kept jumping along the various pieces sticking out, all the way to the second floor of the nests – as high as the pile went.

When she reached the top, she walked over to the edge of the other side. The rest of the structure was splayed out across the thunderpath on the other side and in the alley between the structures.

She walked towards an opening in the left structure, hopping through it and immediately falling down on the rough floors. She felt the strength sapped from her hind legs. Littlescent looked back at her right flank as it began to slowly throb in pain.

 _I can't let this get to me already._

Littlescent struggled to her feet, her head slowly getting lighter and her legs heavier. She ignored her body and kept going, trying to find a way to the stairs in the near pitch-black nest.

 _I just need to get deep enough into LeafClan territory… then I'll be fine. Their patrols should be lighter, and it shouldn't take long to confirm a leader's status. If he's dead, or injured, it'll be pretty easy to tell from the clan's movements._

Littlescent's paw scratched past a ledge, the steps. She slowly began creeping down them, trying not to aggravate her massive burn any more than it already was. She passed by several holes in the steps as the light grew slightly when reaching the bottom. She walked outside, back into the steady breeze which still carried the scent of the fire's smoke.

She looked around; her right completely covered by the collapsed structure. Her left, though, was clear. The thunderpath continued on, only blocked in the distance by another group of collapsed nests. She looked at empty holes in the structures across from her. Some of them were barely standing; others had been completely hollowed out or collapsed.

Littlescent walked to the middle of the thunderpath.

 _That's odd. There's no wildcats up there. Not that I would be able to see them but… I just don't think there's anyone up there. I know if I was leading a patrol that's the first place I would hide a cat. But where are they?_

She began walking down the thunderpath towards the first intersection. She kept walking along slowly, and then quickly glanced backward towards the collapsed nest. She skimmed the area looking for cats, but found nothing. She continued walking down the path towards the intersection.

 _And there's no scent. I don't know if it's the ash in the breeze or what, but I can't smell any wildcat markings. Those cats mark their borders every night, but why not tonight? Where are they?_

For a short break, amid her suspicion and fear of the absent wildcats, Littlescent felt relieved at a breeze that did not carry anything with it but the scent of smoke. But her joy was short-lived. A rustle in a nearby alley perked her ears and fur on end. She partially relaxed after realizing it was just some rubble blowing with the breeze.

She was walking down a littered thunderpath. The moon still refused to show, and the sky remained mostly black. While the fires and lightning did not get to it, it was still full of debris and the skeletal remains of the structures that surrounded it. Through the massive holes in the nests, she could see the special paths the snake-monsters used to travel.

Littlescent looked down a small alley; the wall at the end had completely collapsed. She could walk right through the hole. She darted towards it, only to immediately slow to a limping crawl. Her legs grew heavy again. She had already walked through a large part of LeafClan, and she began to think of Fleetheart's departing words.

 _After I pass through there,_ she thought anxiously, _I'll be right in the middle of their camp… I don't know what to be more concerned about. The absence of cats or my flanks. I get caught now and there's no way I'd be able to escape._

Littlescent continued to hobble down the alley. Fallen materials from the Twoleg dens would hide her, in case there was a cat around the corner. She decided to hide behind one of the fallen stones. She poked her head out the side to try and find a patrol. A wide view was provided by the hollow nests around her.

A large wildcat walked past, paying no attention to the alley. Littlescent watched it walk towards the end of the thunderpath she had just come from. It darted down a small alley from where the path turned left.

 _It's night, the breeze is constant, and the air smells like smoke. It would be impossible for them to detect me; that one didn't, so I should be able to get closer._

Littlescent watched more wildcats cross past the alley, all of them moving into the smaller one. She moved from her hiding place, moving through the rubble to keep hidden. Two more wildcats past her, but she did not hide; they just followed the wildcats before them.

She darted across the thunderpath and into the small alley. Quickly, jumping behind a large stone, she heard the meows and rustles of the wildcats. A small hole within a wall of rubble was the only entrance beyond the alley. Keeping herself hidden, she glanced through the hole into the camp.

It was a massive area many times the size of StoneClan's camp. To the right, there was no tall grass. She could barely make out the faint silver and brown lines of a snake-monster path. It directly crossed with several other paths that branched off of it, all of them lay deep within the massive clearing.

 _Those structures are supposed to be completely abandoned by the Twolegs. So wildcats probably live in them… I'm surprised so many of them are still standing._

The faint glow of fires poked over the collapsed nests. She looked straight ahead. More wildcats flocked into the dead grass surrounding the snake-monster paths. Over the tips of the grass, she saw more dull-colored nests. They were completely in-tact, towering overhead as they normally would. None of the lights were showing through them as they did habited nests.

 _The Twolegs must've abandoned every nest around here long ago, or the wildcats wouldn't be here._ _With so much space, it's no wonder why their clan was so massive. This could be home to so many Twolegs, let alone cats._

Two more wildcats approached. Littlescent hid her head back behind the wall. After she heard them pass, she poked her head back out to see them disappear into the dead grass as well. She decided going into the camp itself would be too dangerous.

Covering the whole left side of the camp was a large wall. A few of the snake-monster's paths went through it. Two massive objects sat at the opening, one was open next to an abandoned part of a snake-monster. The other was closed, just like the entrance of a Twoleg den. Overhead was a large, closed-off bridge made of stone. The bridge connected the two halves of the giant wall.

Right over the tunnel entrance, there was a sign with Twoleg symbols all over it. The largest showed:

 **Adolf** **Schienengehäuse**

She could not tell how deep the tunnel went or what the sign said, but she saw a way up the massive wall.

 _This was a spot where snake-monsters used to live. It must've been abandoned, too. It also means there's no way they could patrol the whole thing. And those steps lead all the way to the top. It'd be quite an inconvenience for a cat to live up all the way up there…_

Littlescent glanced to her right, no movement. She looked through the tall grass in front of her and to the right again, still no movement. The breeze began to pick up to the left towards the tunnel. She took the chance and darted across the ash-covered path to the steps.

There were many wildcats in the massive clearing, but they didn't seem to notice her. Littlescent still quickened her pace. She reached the steps and hid behind a large stone right next to them. She poked her head out. No wildcats, the same sounds from the grass.

 _I'll climb the steps and watch what they're doing. If I hide way up on that bridge, they'll never see me… if I can get way up on that bridge. Hopefully they mistake my form for an apprentice or something._

Littlescent put her front paw on the first step.

 _That wasn't so hard._

She pulled the rest of herself up the step. Her whole body almost gave out from her. She felt herself get light-headed and slowly stepped down.

 _I hate it when Fleetheart is right, sometimes. But she always is… I'll have to find another way I can get—_

"Listen up," a loud voice shouted above the other wildcats. "Quiet down, listen."

Littlescent heard the wildcats settling as their host began speaking. She quickly ran back while the voices were still loud and the breeze flowed. The strain of her burnt flank nearly made her trip. But she made it back behind the entrance wall.

"Listen. Now is time for talking."

 _I've got to look for another way. I want to see what's happening._

After a bit of looking around, she found a small hole in the Twoleg nest next to her. It was covered in debris, but she was small enough to fit. The hole lead to another pile of debris, up to the second floor of the nest. It was a much shorter climb than the steps along the bridge. Littlescent decided to move when she stopped hearing the wildcats.

"I have things to say to the rest of you now. About stuff that happened three nights ago."

Littlescent was already halfway to the second floor of the nest, climbing up slowly from the pieces that collapsed. She paused when she heard the wildcats murmuring again.

"We know what happen three nights ago," a gruff voice called out. "We need know what to _do_ about it."

"Settle down, Pineheart," another voice called out. "Eaglestar telling us now."

 _Eagle-_ star _? So it's true, then. Wolfstar died in the firestorm somehow and Eagleclaw took his place. Or he was made an elder, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore… I can leave and go tell Longstar that the wildcats could be a larger threat now…_

"Now that we _all_ settled," Eaglestar said. "I tell you what we do now."

Littlescent continued to climb towards the second floor, fighting through her body's warnings of quitting on her.

 _Eaglestar is having a meeting. About information they don't want us to know. And it's important enough for them to cancel their border patrols… I'll be careful, Fleetheart. I promise._

Littlescent said a silent prayer to herself as she reached what was left of the empty second floor. With every step the floor creaked, threatening to give out under her. All the walls except the one facing the wildcats were gone; she had just climbed up their remains. But on that remaining wall was a hole big enough to see out of.

She slowly walked towards the hole, trying not to groan too much. Littlescent looked through it and tuned back in to the meeting. She saw the wildcats in a large clearing gathered in front of one of the massive parts of a snake-monster.

It was a grey piece, flat and wide, just like the ones she had seen carry sky-monsters with folded wings. Eaglestar was on top of it, high enough to tower over the other cats and address more scattered around the clearing.

 _That's got to be almost their entire clan. So it_ was _important enough to make sure everyone heard it right then and there._

The wildcats settled down as Eaglestar raised his paw. "First thing we need worry about is food. It out of control. Water won't fill bellies. Never will. We have queens who can't feed kits. Kits starve, grow weak, die. Patrols sit back and eat dirty scraps while they watch hunters and scavengers come back with nothing.

"Still no food. Still nothing. Nothing! Last time I had so much as a _scrap_ was two nights ago!"

The cats began mewing and hissing. Littlescent watched Eaglestar lower his head and calm himself down.

"But for most of you gone longer without. Too long. Tired of watching cats starve. So was Wolfstar… he told high rank what to do in case he died sooner. Three plans. Only be used in extreme cases… starving cats, dying kits, _more_ than extreme."

Eaglestar motioned to two other wildcats near the front of the group. They hopped onto the snake-monster piece and sat close to him. One was a white cat with long, dirty fur and the other a dark brown one. Unlike the other wildcats in the crowd, they looked fed.

"Only ones who knew plans before were Horsepelt, Flyfoot, Mousetail, me. They pretty extreme; we thought long as a group for two. Third one, all Wolfstar."

The cats began to murmur amongst themselves, looking at the cats who had decided their future for them. Littlescent recognized Flyfoot's white fur and assumed the other dark brown cat was Horsepelt.

"Why didn't we know?" one of the wildcats asked. "I don't like when Wolfstar keep secrets." Others quickly followed up with the same question.

"It for our safety," Eaglestar responded. "Massive clan, many ideas. He didn't want needless violence among ourselves. So we decide right now, as clan, while any cat with strength to stand is here."

 _I guess that would explain why they refused meetings with us recently,_ Littlescent thought. _At least someone will be able to tell the rest of our clan what they're doing. If Longstar's predictions are accurate, we need this information._

Eaglestar silenced the cats. "Option one has desires of Mousetail and Horsepelt. Hear it all before asking questions. Wolfstar never wanted another war with StoneClan. If he was up here, it'd not be an option… their idea was unite our clans, stone and leaf. We would then—"

The wildcat crowd began hissing and howling at their leader's words. Eaglestar failed to calm them down by waving his paw.

"You expect us to do _that_?"

"How could Horsepelt make such plans?!"

"Mousetail's prophecy about the doom of us all, we just _ignore_ that?"

Eaglestar, losing their focus, stepped away from the edge of his platform to let Horsepelt defend his decision.

Horsepelt waved his paw in the air. "I know most of you hate stone cats, but—"

"If you knew that, why think such plan?!" another wildcat jeered.

Horsepelt waved his paw in the air to try and calm them down, if only a little. He looked away from them, choosing his next words.

Littlescent adjusted her position, trying to take as much weight as possible off her burned flank.

 _Unite the clans… so it_ was _discussed with Wolfstar at one point. If it made it into one of his 'secret plans' then he must've considered it. It goes against their pride as wildcats and Mousetail's prophecy of the clans' destruction, but it's about survival. Wolfstar could have discredited and created peace at the same time…_

"Hear me out," Horsepelt shouted. "We need food. They have many mice, rats. They need safe territory. We now double their usable territory. Maybe more since Night of Fire. If we share territories, both clans easily survive."

A large cat stepped forward through the other wildcats. They began to calm down as he made his way to the front.

"You want us to surrender to stone cats a _second_ time," his gruff voice called out. "We never go through that dishonor again!"

"Pact wasn't surrender, Pinheart," Horsepelt said, trying to defend himself. "And it won't be surrender. It be each clan helping each other where needed most. When Wolfstar agreed to Pact to stop war with StoneClan it was because he tired of watching wildcats die, of watching prophecy fulfil itself!"

The hissing stopped, but some of the cats were still crying out furiously. Horsepelt tried his best to hold their attention.

"Now we in more trouble than ever, to new threat. This plan let us end conflict, end our hunger, maybe even bury past. We need not suffer as separate clans. Why can't we help each other when most needed? StarClan gives us no answers. Not since war ended. Their prophecy of clan destruction cannot fulfil if there is only one clan."

It was no use. Littlescent's ears dropped at the sounds of the crowd, watching her ally's plan for peace unanimously rejected. Pineheart raised his head and stared straight at Horsepelt.

"You weren't alive during war. And you knew why Stars didn't want her around? She killed so many… I say no to Bonbon's ideas. No to more wounded pride as wildcats. May StarClan watch over LeafClan, now and forever!"

It was over. Horsepelt looked on at the crowd he had lost to the hisses and howls against his and Moustail's plan. He lowered his head and stepped back, unable to look upon his starving clanmates.

"Then that's done, I guess," he said. "You have chosen pride and StarClan."

Littlescent could almost feel the sorrow in his voice. He learned his clan would never compromise with anything that had to do with StoneClan. She felt bad for him just knowing that he would never see his clan in unity. And that she never would, either.

The warrior's pulse quickened.

 _How could they just reject it like that? That's what Longstar was thinking all along. They could just ask him and I'm sure he'd agree with it. I'd be hard at first, but then the sky-monster attacks would stop, along with the hardships for everyone… dummkopfs. All of them!_

Eaglestar waved his paw in the air, regaining control of the crowd.

"I take your reactions as no. We no longer discuss that option. Make no mistake. I will hear of no disrespect to Horsepelt and Mousetail for thinking different. Understand this.

Sure that he had the crowd's full attention, he continued.

"On to next one, presented to Wolfstar by Flyfoot. I also had say in it, but that was as deputy. As leader, I no longer have fair say in it. I leave Flyfoot to explain it to you."

Eaglestar stepped aside, letting the white she-cat take his spot. Flyfoot sat, head high, in front of the crowd of anxious wildcats. Her legs were straight and her tail was wrapped calmly around them.

"Clanmates," she yelled. "I have no plans for peace like my mentor. I wasn't alive to see war either, but I've heard stories of all cowardly and brutal things Bonbon did for StoneClan's 'right to exist'. Yellowstar, false prophet, delivers lies in all the Star's words. Mousetail's prophecy is truth!"

The wildcats began to quietly mutter in agreement. Littlescent almost could not believe what she was hearing.

"We have kittypets beyond the territories of StoneClan. They wander our territory looking for breeze cats, to join that false seer's lies. Only when stone cats got closer and we make more patrols do we discover this. And then there's rouges. Other clans complain about them. Nothing more than runaway pets and loaners, yet clans allow them to live, mate, and take more food and land, showing nothing for it. Rouges nothing but ticks on our pelts."

She got even more cats crying out in agreement.

"Before war, my life, and clan moving to Twolegplace, Stars gave prophecy to Mousetail. Not to let other clans rise, or it be death of all cats. She never believed it. Just as Horsepelt doesn't now. Greatest respect for my mentor, but we never starving _before_ Bonbon's rise. We never run from fire-fallers and thunder-splitters _before_ BreezeClan's roaming around."

 _Mousetail may have heard this from StarClan,_ Littlescent thought as she shifted her weight, _but that doesn't mean it has to happen… does it? Yellowstar always said we can exist together, and that the Stars didn't want us fighting. That has to be true._

"Mousetail's messages, indeed words of the Stars. But now words are _becoming_ truth. We suffer at the paws of the other clans. We allow them to exist, against prophecy, and this is what happens."

Flyfoot paused to let her clanmates calm down. Littlescent could not tell what they were thinking in their silence, but she was almost certain of the next words.

"If we want survival," she continued, "we must break Pact with StoneClan."

The wildcats remained silent. Littlescent thought they might just be as surprised as she was. After a moment, they began speaking again. Some hissed, some yelled in agreement, and others conversed with their clanmates.

Littlescent took her face away from the hole in the wall to shake the ash and dust from her fur.

 _Would they dare break the Pact? It's been the only thing keeping them away from us. Protecting both our clans from another war. Wolfstar swore by it. Eaglestar isn't him. But is Eaglestar that desperate to Mousetail's prophecy and food?_

Flyfoot raised her paw to try and grab the wildcat's attention once more.

"Breaking Pact would mean no more listening to weak Longstar and his borders. We go in, take the food we need. Anyone stands in our way is crushed!"

The wildcats started to change, most shouting in favor of Flyfoot's radical decision. Her argument was working.

"Their clan not like it was during war. Their territory in ruins, many of them probably hurt, one queen, two apprentices. No help from passive breeze cats, and rouges are nothing but yelling scourge. They stand no chance! We don't need war. We shouldn't tolerate starving. Nothing should stand in way of our survival!"

The wildcats erupted in stamping paws in yowls of agreement. Littlescent could not believe it. Their resentment towards her clan overshadowed their desire to keep the peace.

 _Wolfstar was so adamant about keeping his cats out of war. How could he approve a plan like this? They would overpower us they would… they could destroy us. And from the sound of it, they want to._

 _Horsepelt please stop this. Stop this madness and defend your clan. Defend our clans' peace. The sky-monsters can't be punishment from StarClan. Panzer even says monsters and everything Twoleg are out of their control. There's no way Flyfoot is right._

Littlescent watched the dark brown wildcat hang his head away from his clanmates as he listened to the wildcats cheers and yowls. She knew if anything was to happen, it would be war.

The breeze picked up again, blowing through the holes in the wall and reaching Littlescent. They carried the bitter ash scent that she had been able to mostly escape in the structure. She continued to try and fight off her fatigue from climbing to where she was.

She shook her fur out again.

 _Fleetheart being right is going to get me killed if I stay too long… I'll leave right when Eaglestar's finished announcing the last plan. I should be gone before they rush back to their patrols._

The cats finally began to calm down again as Eaglestar walked back to his place. Flyfoot stepped back next to him, her head high.

"We seem to have agreement for this one. I'll keep in mind. But Wolfstar would want us address all of them. If he were here, he would want his say. This last plan was entirely him. It simple, wild. Wolfstar suggested we abandon territory and return to forest.

The wildcats began talking amongst themselves, none showing acceptance or rejection of the plan.

"We been here since before Twoleg war," Pineheart shouted. "When Wolfstar was young… before even I was alive. We supposed to leave, just like that?"

Eaglestar gazed over the crowd as a whole. "Most of us weren't alive when Wolfstar left forest at StarClan's request. He said he willing to take us all back there if it meant a better chance of survival. We vanish, abandoning this dying Twolegplace to other cats, StoneClan likely."

Eaglestar's voice became softer, but still loud. "I told him outside forest wasn't my place. This is my place. But we agreed, for survival of LeafClan, this would be safest option. Outlying forests used to be very dangerous. But now Twoleg war moved to the skies, forests much safer. No fire-fallers, earth-shakers, thunder-splitters. No dead Twolegs, no starving clanmates.

"As clan leader, I will not have say in decision. It must be up to clan to decide, as Wolfstar would want." Eaglestar raised his head to address everyone loudly. "Those in favor of plans raise head and tail high. Those against, crouch out of sight."

Eaglestar waited for the cats to be silent before proceeding. He stepped back next to Flyfoot and Horsepelt, all three far from the front now. The wildcats were still, waiting to make their choice.

Littlescent fixed on Horsepelt as he walked to where Eaglestar was standing. He held his head up high and his ears low; one last plea to accept his plan. All but a few wildcats dropped to the ground, each looking away from him.

Horsepelt did not shake his head or try to protest. He just calmly walked back to his position next to Flyfoot. The cats rose again when he was back in place.

 _That… that's it?_ Littlescent's fur was spiking. _They_ — _they just reject it like that? They don't even try. Two of their best put this forward and they just say 'no'. What kind of cat – what kind of clan – says no to peace?_

Flyfoot stepped towards the front of the platform. She held her head and tail high, bearing her fangs. The crowd of cats raised their heads and tails. All but those who had voted for Horsepelt.

Littlescent looked on from her hiding spot in despair. The small patches of wildcats who desired peace were completely covered up by the larger group of starving cats who needed swift action.

Flyfoot turned and slowly walked back to her place near Horsepelt, her tail and head still high. He did not respond; he just kept facing the crowd.

Eaglestar stepped forward. He stood strong with his tail lowered, knowing he did not accept the proposal he represented. And neither did any other cat. They all stood, no tails raised or bodies crouched. They all had already chosen.

He stood, waiting for just a few moments before speaking. "Choice is clear. I soon make plans asking StoneClan to stand down patrols… all dismissed. Go back to borders and dens.

"And, needlessly said, don't tell stone cats. Don't even hint or taunt at it. If it is to be done, must be done with as little blood and effort as possible. We can't spare either; Wolfstar knew that. Skirmishes are forbidden. War is last resort. Understand that."

Eaglestar jumped down from the snake-monster piece into the dusty clearing below. The thin wildcats began to pad back towards the nearby structures. The fed cats began running beyond the clearing and back through the nearby alleys.

Littlescent looked at Horsepelt as he stood and hopped off the snake-monster piece. He seemed to be looking straight past her, towards the sky beyond the view of the structure she was in. She felt his failure as her own, thinking about how she could have done more to convince the wildcats.

 _I should get out of here. Once they stop moving around I'll move on top of the structures back to the old pet's grounds… I'm sorry, Horsepelt. I should have done more to help you. I should have convinced Longstar, told more cats, prayed more. Prayed to the Stars more in your favor. Maybe, just that time, they would've help you… if only they would act._

The StoneClan warrior looked around for a way out. There was an opening above the hole she came in through. She could walk across the top of the wall she had hid behind on the ground.

She left her fur dirty, preparing to move through the small exit and onto the debris. She looked through the hole facing the clearing one last time. Horsepelt was still observing the clouded sky, the breeze delivering a light cloud of ash and dust over the area. He did not move. Littlescent went back to moving through the exit and onto the makeshift bridge.

 _Horsepelt… I'll make sure your message still reaches our clan. Perhaps there's still time to peacefully exist together. I know the Stars say we—_

The wall groaned from below. The wall beneath her paws crumbled away. Littlescent tumbled into to the alley below. The debris fell all around her as she landed feet first on a pile of crushed materials.

She fell over immediately, her head swimming. She jumped to her feet and fought to stay there. Her vision blurred and her legs weakened.

Vision blurred, she turned to the alley's exit. Already blocked. She turned around. The fallen rubble had blocked the entrance to the clearing. She had no other options. She clawed her way up the debris, her pain only growing.

Two wildcats had already climbed to the top and were looking down on her. Littlescent's legs gave out first. She slid down the pile to the ground.

 _Stars,_ she thought as the wildcats grew closer. _That fall overworked me. I can't even run away… don't let them kill me._

Her vision faded out just as the three blobs were standing directly over her.

 _Forgive me, Fleetheart._


	19. Chapter 18

The air was damp and it reeked of mold. There was barely any light coming in from holes high above the ground. The constant sound of water dripping into puddles below was the loudest.

Littlescent opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, trying to avoid the revived pain in her burned right flank. Her legs ached; she remembered landing on her feet on a soft pile of rubble. But in her condition, it was not enough. She checked her body. It was covered in small scratches which had stopped bleeding while she was out.

The area around her was covered in shiny brown-colored objects. They twisted and bent in all different directions along the stone walls. They all led to a large, silver container in the left corner of the large room. The container groaned and creaked back at Littlescent. She could barely look up.

She glanced at her right. There was a massive open area, just like the one in her clan's camp. Only this one was much larger. It went further than she could see, and the roof there was higher than where she was sitting. There was a large hole in the back that let light in.

She tried to stand up, realizing she was in a pile of mud. Looking behind her, she could see the dried streaks leading to the entrance she had been dragged though. She could see the clearing outside, the sun barely shining through the clouds; it was the brightest it had been since before that night.

 _I was certain they would kill me… then again, Eaglestar wanted no killing._

Her feet wobbled under her own weight. But she kept herself balanced and walked to the open entrance. Two wildcats quickly blocked her. Both looked famished, but they still towered over her.

"Where you think you going?" one of them asked.

"I… I want to see Eaglestar," Littlescent responded.

"His orders. We keep you here. You not going anywhere."

Littlescent's head was light. She hadn't eaten or drank anything since before she left. And she could barely keep her vision focused. Her fur began spiking as her stomach growled.

"I demand to see Eaglestar," she growled.

"Little stone cat, you shouldn't speak like that here," the other wildcat responded. "I just might _eat_ you out of hunger."

"Why am I here?" she responded. "I demand you return me to my camp."

The two wildcats looked at each other briefly. They bore their fangs and growled at Littlescent and walked back to the sides of the entrance.

"You walk out here before we tell you, you die."

Littlescent breathed deep, calming herself down. She knew, even starving, she was no match for the much larger wildcats.

The gleam of silver steps caught her attention. They were the same ones she failed to climb the previous night.

 _I'm underneath that stone bridge_ , Littlescent thought as she stared down the low-lit chamber before her. _The silver thing is still running, but I don't see any Twolegs. The whole structure must be abandoned. Then the wildcats must've searched and claimed every structure around here for sleeping. Hard to believe there's barley any mice or rats in a place like this._

Littlescent shook the dried flakes of mud from her fur as best she could. She had almost grown used to how uncomfortable a dirty pelt was. Her bald spots, however, only made it worse.

She looked back out the entrance leading to the steps. The wildcats were certainly there, but they stayed out of site.

Taking slow steps to keep her aching body in check, she crept deeper into the massive room. The moldy smell quickly grew stronger and the cool, stone ground was wet beneath her paws.

She kept going towards the light from the large hole. Just as she expected, the special path for the snake-monsters led under the bridge and beyond her line of vision. A tunnel that she could sneak out of.

 _Those brown water-carrying things must've been damaged since the Twolegs left, with nothing to fix them. They've leaked out for a while and created all this moss… it will be perfect to hide in. It's even better cover than the smoke. If I can just get to the end—_

"Going somewhere?"

 _Mouse dung!_

"Can't escape that way, anyway," the deep voice echoed. "It just lead you to another thunderpath, which we control."

Littlescent shook the dizziness from her head and tried to focus on the large wildcat walking towards her. She recognized his dark pelt and his bright, hazel eyes.

"Horsepelt." Her vision came clear, the last of her anger and pain fading for a moment.

"I was sent by Eaglestar," he continued. "I'm here to answer questions I'm allowed to. Ask away, Littlescent."

She looked around the room for any other cats. Among the twisting silver objects and loose stones, there was no one else. As expected, not even rats scurrying about.

"What happened after I fell?" she said, scratching one of her paws.

"You inside massive stone bridge, center of our camp," the LeafClan warrior answered. "Normally many cats come and go through here, easily undetected. Above you are dens of Eaglestar and other honored cats, except for medicine den. After you fell, warriors dragged you here. I instructed them not to claw you, so they dragged you along jagged rocks nearby… sorry."

Littlescent shook her head. "I've been worse, and still am. But, more importantly, what was all that talk from last night? What are you going to do to our clan?"

Horsepelt lowered his head and turned his back to the StoneClan warrior. He motioned her to follow him deeper into the large tunnel. She followed next to him.

"I try to warn them," he started. "To keep them away from this path. I failed."

Littlescent tried to comfort him. "You didn't fail. Those violent wildcats just didn't listen to reason. Flyfoot got to them."

"She got to them in ways they understand." Horsepelt looked around the large room. "Wildcats hate stone cats. No doubt. Most still bitter from war, and she right. I was not alive during war. I can't understand their hatred of StoneClan."

Littlescent shook her head again "She spoke out against StarClan. Mousetail predicted that we couldn't live together, that we'd all be destroyed. But, with Yellowstar's help, we proved them wrong. We've been just fine together for a long time. Since I've been born. Since you and Flyfoot were born."

"Not that simple." Horsepelt stopped walking.

The two were at the deepest point in the tunnel. Littlescent finally saw that the massive exit that would normally be on the other side was completely blocked by rubble. It still held a charred scent, making her believe it had fallen recently.

Horsepelt was staring out of one of the holes in the pile, large enough for even him to comfortably fit through.

"Since my birth, I hear all these bad things about StoneClan. Never thought them true. I deny them. I keep denying them until right before I became apprentice warrior, and I left camp for first time.

"Wolfstar himself took our group to where we bury dead cats. He told us to dig. Didn't take long to find bones… so many of them. You could scratch dirt and find one. And many still had skin and fur on them. All rotted from time underground, but still there."

The wildcat tom turned and looked Littlescent right in the eye.

"Wolfstar said those were bodies of warriors we were replacing. The ones that died during rise of StoneClan. Who had sharp things and stones dropped on them from above. Who jumped into holes to find spikes and claws in ambush. And who were lured into range of anxious Twoleg warriors, having lightning thrown at them. All done under Bonbon. And she was just first leader."

Littlescent cringed at the thought of Bonbon's brutal tactics. The very same tactics Sharptooth had been preparing the clan to use again.

"That day we got reminder of prophecy Mousetail told us while we were kits. Wolfstar told us we lost that war. And that any who say otherwise is wrong. We lost because we ignored StarClan's warning; we let other clans rise. Even when we killed so many, we failed. Even how you were captured; you spy on us again. It frightened them learning one tactic of hers was already used by Longstar. They see past again. But I understand."

Horsepelt shook his head and parted stares with Littlescent. He walked forward on top of rock as Littlescent sat to stave off her lightheadedness. He took a deep breath of the thick, damp air before he spoke again.

"I haven't abandoned peace, if that what you thinking now. I never want to abandon peace. But can't help thinking what would've happened had she failed. Had Bonbon not created army of loyal clan members. How different things would be, how many more of us still be living."

Littlescent almost could not believe what she was hearing. It was the first time she had ever heard a wildcat open up about their past. And about the reasons they would have for hating StoneClan.

She put her paw on her head, trying to deal with Horsepelt's words through her own fatigue.

"You're tired," he said, leaving his position on the rock. "You should see Mousetail about injuries. It not what you used to. 'Grass and dirt', Panzer calls it. But she can and will heal you."

The large tom began walking deeper into the tunnel, back where he came from. Littlescent snapped from her thoughts.

"Who is the deputy," she asked. "I was never able to figure that out from the meeting."

"I am," he responded.

She had a feeling it was him, though.

"If you need anything else, ask guards at entrance to send for me. And Littlescent… I'm sorry. About all this. If I could have it another way—"

"Don't worry," she interrupted. "It wasn't your fault that I was captured. It was mine for staying longer than I should have. Thanks for clearing things up for me, though."

Horsepelt nodded his head and padded off into the darkness towards an entrance she had not seen before. She knew it must have lead up some steps to the top of the bridge.

Littlescent walked slowly back to where she woke up, thinking about the wildcat tom's words the whole time.

 _They had a reason for hating us the whole time. A reason none of us would've known unless we walked straight into LeafClan's camp and asked them. Well here I am, right in the middle of it. Getting parts of it straight from a LeafClan deputy._

 _I always assumed that Bonbon's tactics were just different for theirs, not frightening. If only I could get this information to Longstar, we could start talking with them about it. And about their prophecy. If we've lived without destroying each other since Horsepelt and I were born, I'm sure we can keep doing it, no matter what StarClan says._

She arrived in her spot, a round imprint of her body still set in the thick mud. The twisting, rumbling brown objects nearby were leaking water. She knew it was from the absence of Twolegs to maintain them.

 _He probably would've never told me why I was here and not dead. It can't be for anything good… nothing good for me, at least._


	20. Chapter 19

_Well, that's the last place to sit. But these scratches just don't stop hurting._

Littlescent stood from her position on a dry block amid the damp floors of the tunnel. The air still smelled of thick moss and the shiny, brown Twoleg objects were still hissing and groaning nearby. The only thing that had changed was that sunlight began to fade orange and the wind had picked up.

But she could not feel it, and really did not want to. It would only aggravate the small cuts.

 _This is so annoying_ , she thought as she resisted the urge to scratch. _How am I supposed to think straight if I'm stuck in a place like this?_

She briefly started biting at her forepaw until Fleetheart's 'no scratching' warning echoed through her mind again.

 _And these cuts don't help… that's it. I need something for them. And this dirty water just won't do. It might even make me sick. Then I'll really be no good to my clan._

Littlescent had not gotten much rest since her talk with Horsepelt. His words kept her from staying asleep long, as well as the scratches. She slowly padded towards the entrance again, the orange light reflecting off the water and the Twoleg devices.

"Excuse me," she called out. "I'd like something."

A thin, famished wildcat tom poked his head through the entrance, watching his captive move closer to it.

"What you blabbering about now? And you better not ask for food, again."

"I want to go to the medicine den," she said.

"Why?"

"For these cuts that I got while I was unconscious. They still sting and I can't sit down or sleep long with them."

"Aw, poor stone kit," the thin tom mocked. "Wants Mousetail for a few scratches."

Littlescent was still in no mood to argue.

" _You_ probably gave some of them to me, savage. Now let me see her."

The LeafClan warrior moved just a paw step away from her. "Say something like that again and it be more than just scratches, little cat."

She didn't back down. "Look, just let me go see Mousetail and we don't start anything, okay?"

The tom grew wide-eyed. " _Start anything?_ My energy better saved for patrol than wasted on easy fights with captives."

"Take me to go see Mousetail, _now_!" Littlescent's eyes grew wider.

"' _Now,_ ' she says. Take me to her _now_." The tom bore his fangs. "I don't like 'now' very much. Just what you greedy stone cats said when Bonbon was in charge. 'Let us live in peace, now,' she cried and cried... at least she cries no more!"

Littlescent flashed her own fangs. "You're too young to have even met her. Even younger than me! You're just spouting the nonsense of your elders again."

"Nonsense? Nonsense?! Are dead cats, most painful deaths, 'nonsense' to you, little thing?" He was practically hissing.

"Had LeafClan even tried to think—"

"Molepaw," another tom called from beyond the entrance. "I'm here to send you on patrol."

Molepaw faced away from the stubborn she-cat and walked out of the entrance. "Good… take brown and grey ball of _dirt_ to Mousetail. Before I take her there myself as new body to bury!"

He quickly left the scene, leaving the other famished tom to examine the prisoner. Littlescent hid her fangs and took deep breaths.

 _Littlescent what's wrong with you? You need to remember what Horsepelt said. They feared our tactics. They lost so many of them. And, if I remember Panzer's stories correctly, Bonbon was a lot like her. Maybe even starting the war herself._

"Well," said her new, older wildcat guard. "You going to Mousetail or what?"

"Yes, yes," Littlescent responded, calming herself from her ordeal.

 _I think I've been around for too many of Panzer's LeafClan rants._

The hazy orange sky beamed over the camp, the rough wind flowing through Littlescent's thin fur once again. It was something she knew she would never really enjoy as long as the ash was flying around.

Her new captor was leading her to a structure; the only one completely in-tact. Some of the others had been grazed by flying debris or singed by fire. Most had completely collapsed into themselves.

The entrance to the structure had been torn off and laid on the ground before the den. Littlescent looked forward to going inside to escape eyes of the hungry wildcats. She even saw Flyfoot on the way, who had hissed loudly at her.

 _I'm really looking forward to getting out of here,_ she thought. _If not for the wildcat guarding me… I'm not in the mood to think about that right now._

"We here," her guard said as he sat at the side of the entrance. Littlescent walked across the wood and into the den.

"And don't think about trying anything, little thing," said the tom. "Mousetail may be medicine cat, but any wildcat is more than match for runt stone cat. And I be right out here, waiting to tear throat out at _first_ hint of trouble. Got it?"

Littlescent nodded her head and left the wildcat's sight.

 _He seems a bit too eager to kill me… hold those thoughts, Littlescent. Remember Horsepelt…_

As she entered the room, she felt a gentle breeze flow through, much softer than the wind outside. It went through every hair on Littlescent's body, putting her at ease.

"You're here," the familiar voice of Mousetail called from deeper in the den. "I'm in back. Come over here."

Littlescent walked through the den. It still had the fixtures she commonly saw in them before the fires. Tall spires were covered with the mostly smooth wood Twolegs made. The floor scratched at her rough paw pads as she made her way to the back of the nest.

She rounded a corner into the narrow halls that were in all Twoleg nests. The end of the hall was covered in rubble from the second level of the nest.

Some orange light was leaking from one of the dens to her left. She poked her head inside.

The light came from a hole that went all the way through the structure, directly facing the sky. It bounced off the white walls, covering the whole room in an orange glow. A small, grey and black wildcat was standing on top of the spire in the room. An oddly shaped, white object was sitting next to it, providing a way up to Mousetail.

"I already prepared water," her soothing voice called. "Are you ready for your treatment?"

Littlescent carefully climbed the oddly shaped white object and hopped onto the spire. Atop it was a large hole with more twisting silver things, much smaller than the ones under the bridge. The liquid in the hole was still and murky. The warrior took in the cool air surrounding the water.

"But the ones in our den haven't run water since the sky-monsters started attacking," Littlescent said. "How is this one still working?"

Mousetail shook her head. "I don't know. But my old den used to be under bridge until Twoleg things broke. This is only one we found in whole camp that still runs. Water not poisonous either, like in some."

The StoneClan warrior put her paw in, letting the soothing liquid envelop her pads.

"You've never used this medicine before, have you?" Mousetail asked.

"No," she responded. "Only Twoleg medicine. Normally Panzer would rub this burning stuff all over and would have me drink something, and that'd be it."

"I promise you, this won't burn. Plus we can wash your fur at same time. This been best form of full-body healing since we lived in forest. I put as many things in as possible to try to mimic river water outside Twolegplace… I'm sure river not look like this anymore, though."

Littlescent turned and backed into the pool as quickly as possible. It was as if she was being covered in milk rather than water. It soaked into her wounds, easing the pain away from the inside out. At the bottom she felt many flower petals softening the hole. She rested her weary paw pads on them, feeling their pain disappear instantly.

She opened her eyes to find a torn, red piece of fake-fur. In the center was the familiar white circle with the black 'X' shape in the center. The tipped ends of it had many small tears, but she still recognized the symbol.

"Wildcats don't like that symbol," started Mousetail. "Sometimes, after healing, they swipe it before they leave. They blame those Twolegs for destroying things."

Littlescent no longer felt like a captive while she sat in the milky, grey water. "The _Achse_ are the ones trying to protect this place. Other Twolegs are trying to destroy it."

Mousetail grabbed a root from behind her and began raking it slowly with her claws.

"Last time I heard _Achse_ was from Panzer's mouth. I guess all cats in your clan know some Twoleg speak… well, defenders or not, all of us dying."

Littlescent turned her head towards the LeafClan medicine cat.

"They're comfrey roots," Mousetail said. "Hard to find in this place. Stop itching and pain. Some in pool now, but you need more… didn't know you were so badly hurt." She started scooping the shavings into a pile and went back to clawing the small root.

"Most of them came from the firestorm four nights ago." She resisted scratching below the water. "Panzer says they'll take many moons to heal fully."

"Moons," Mousetail said. "That sounds painful. Sorry our warriors just made it worse."

Littlescent quickly dipped her head in and out of the pool, eager to relieve the itching from her face. She found herself looking right back at the symbol. It towered over her, seemingly unaffected by the orange light of the setting sun. It almost intimidated her with its stubbornness, still showing the _Achse_ symbol despite all that had happened to it.

A warm paw rubbed along Littlescent's back. She flinched, almost leaping right out of the pool.

"Relax, little one," Mousetail said. "It's mashed marigold. There's large burn on your back; this will keep it from aching."

Littlescent slowly set herself back into the murky water. She tried to control her breathing, but found it hard to slow herself down.

Her paws were tapping at the bottom, only for her to realize her claws were out. She kept breathing heavily, trying to retract them, failing to do so over and over again. She began growing angry with herself.

"What… what's wrong with me," Littlescent whispered. "First the wildcat and now this?"

"What wildcat?" Mousetail was still rubbing more marigolds over her back.

"I… I didn't mean to speak out loud. I was just talking to myself, ignore me."

"I don't want to ignore you." Mousetail stopped rubbing her back. "It my job to know about clan problems. You here, so you count."

She stayed silent, hoping to keep the matter private. She concentrated on the sounds of the wind rattling against the loose structure. Its rhythm seemed to calm her for some reason.

"You didn't have problem talking to me earlier," Mousetail said. "StoneClan captive or not, everyone equal here. I've treated kittypets as equals in my den, even strays back in the forest dens were welcome."

Littlescent let out a sigh and rested her head back in the water, leaving it just above the surface.

"Okay fine," she said. "I said some harsh things about LeafClan. I told him his elders had passed on nonsense to the other cats. I told him that… I'd rather not say what I was going to say to him. If the other guard hadn't shown up when he did, I'd probably be here with worse injuries than this."

Mosuetail continued rubbing the ground marigold on Littlescent, now concentrating on her burned flank.

"I normally don't yell at any cat," Littlescent continued. "Even when Panzer insults me or Wolfgang challenges me, or wildcats who yowl at me from the borders. It's just not me. But why would I do it this time?"

The medicine cat nodded. "Maybe hunger got to you. Haven't eaten since you got captured, I assume?"

"Maybe," Littlescent responded.

She seemed content with the answer Mousetail gave her and decided to just try and relax for the time being. She didn't like the idea of being asked these questions. The presence of the LeafClan medicine cat began to make her uncomfortable.

 _I just want to be alone,_ she began thinking. _I just want to go into a corner and think more about what happened when I yelled at that apprentice. I didn't like that, and I don't like how I keep flinching at everything… yes. Time alone to think about what's happening right now. I can't help anyone in this state of mind._

Mousetail continued to rub the mashed marigold over Littlescent's burned flank. She felt herself calming down again. It was one of the few times that her injuries did not itch.

Her flank began to throb at the pressure Mousetail was applying. But, unlike the pain she experienced before, the throbbing was rhythmic. A numbing sensation flowed all over her body. She felt blood flow through her leg once more, as if she was not even injured.

She closed her eyes, trying to picture herself back in her own clan. She pictured herself sitting on the warm thunderpaths in her own territory, surrounded by the familiar collapsed nests. A warm breeze was flowing through her fur, while its soft sounds flowed through her ears. It was peaceful.

For a moment, she actually was able to picture the scene. Then other cats showed up, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. The cats were yelling and screaming at her, but she could not hear them.

All the nests suddenly lit up. The thunderpath beneath her became scorching hot. And the breeze grew into a hostile torrent.

She tried to call out to the cats, to ask them what was happening. They just kept shouting at her. Closer and closer they drew to her face; their screams bled their suffering.

She could not understand what they were saying. She could not even speak back to them. Her voice stayed silent, her body still. She struggled, the thunderpath underneath growing dryer. The throbbing in her flank returned. She tried to block it out and listen to the silent cats.

 _Help… help me._

Littlescent ignored everything around her, trying to find the mystery cat's cry.

 _Help… help me. Littlescent help me._

The fires disappeared, the muted cats faded away. The pain, the wind, the heat, all vanished. Littlescent sat, still unable to move, watching a bright orange light grow closer and closer.

 _Littlescent… Littlescent don't leave me here. Don't let me die here._

The light grew brighter, harsher. It drew closer, and the heat returned. The throbbing pain in her flank grew in intensity with the light.

 _It… it's too late. It's too late, Littlescent. It's too late. I'm already dead._

 _No,_ Littlescent thought. She struggled against her unresponsive body. _No, just hang on, I'll be there._

 _No,_ the voice was calm. _No, it's too late, Littlescent. It's too late, Littlescent._

The light, close to her, turned a hideous shade of blood-red. It morphed into the shape of a small cat. It was struggling. Thrashing around. In tremendous pain. Littlescent could almost feel its body burning against her own, as if it was drawing her in.

 _It's too late, Littlescent. It's too late, Littlescent. It's already over._ The voice kept its soft demeanor.

Littlescent's eyes were wide, an unbroken stare on the red cat. The eyes were glowing bright, white, the cat's fur completely consumed by fire. She could see its red flesh; the cat's blood bubbled under the skin. She looked into its bright eyes. They continued to draw closer.

 _You didn't save me! You didn't save me, Littlescent!_

 _I… I'm sorry. I couldn't—_

 _No excuses, Littlescent. It's too late, Littlescent. Too late for excuses. You left me alone, Littlescent. You left me alone to burn._

Littlescent tried to look away from the vile sight. The burning cat continued to wail and thrash in silence, its words went straight to her mind.

 _Stop saying my name,_ Littlescent thought, trying to keep herself hidden. _Stop saying my name. There was nothing I could do!_

 _Littlescent, you just had to save me... But you walked away, Littlescent._

The warrior curled her body close.

 _Stop… please stop saying my name. Stop saying it I'm begging you._

 _It's too late, Littlescent. You will be punished… eventually… you shall burn alongside me!_

Littlescent screamed as she jumped out of the water. Mousetail lost her balance at the sudden outburst and fell from her perch to the floor.

The small warrior was shaking violently, her eyes wide and her tail twitching in all different directions.

"What's wrong, Littlescent," Mousetail said from below. "Did I hit a bad spot on—"

"Please!" Littlescent jumped to the ground, not even shaking the water from her fur. "Please stop saying my name!"

She darted from the room and into the hallway. She continued to breathe and shake violently. The thought of the burning she-cat made her stomach churn. She stopped halfway down the hall and vomited onto the floor, unable to control herself. She stood there, staring at it, trying to get the image of the she-cat out of her head.

"What's wrong? Tell me what happened." Mousetail was already standing next to her. "Don't worry about that."

She continued staring at the red paste in her fit. Mousetail forced her stare away from the mess and towards her own face. Littlescent's tail stopped flicking around and her body slowed it's shaking.

"Littlescent, tell me. Was it something I did? Please, answer me."

She looked straight into the medicine cat's green eyes. "Please… please just don't say my name! Please."

Littlescent felt herself collapse on the floor. Mousetail embraced her and tried to keep her from shaking any more. She began chanting a prayer as she wrapped herself around Littlescent.

"No more… no more of my name. I just… I just wanted to save her, that's all. I just wanted to save her life… I'm sorry!"

The thundering paws of the wildcat waiting outside stomped around the corner. He towered over the pair, claws drawn.

"What's wrong," he said. "I heard screaming and noise."

"Wait outside, please," Mousetail responded. "I handle it."

The wildcat obeyed Mousetail's wishes and was quickly out of sight. The medicine cat continued her slow prayer to StarClan.

Littlescent felt her breathing begin to slow. She had finally snapped from her trance and returned from her own mind.

"I want to be alone right now," she said. "To think about the she-cat. It's all so much–"

"Don't think about she-cat right now," Mousetail responded. "Just think about this place, this hall. Where you are right now, nothing else… now come. I have to clean the mess from your fur.

Littlescent stood, leaning her shaken body on Mousetail's as they walked back to the room with the pool. She kept her eyes firmly open as to not drift off into another hallucination.

 _Stars above,_ she thought, staring into the brilliant, orange light that poured across the den.

 _Stars above what's wrong with me?_


	21. Chapter 20

The night sky, for the first time since the firestorm, gave Littlescent a glimpse of the stars. Despite the smoke clouds that now loomed high above, she could make out all the bright ones she would see on a clear night.

It was all she could see from her holding spot under the massive stone bridge. The two wildcats at the entrance would not let her go outside to look at them. She had to view them from the large entrance for the snake-monsters. It was cracked open slightly, just enough for Littlescent to see them.

The damp, stone floor under the bridge felt strange under her burns after her ordeal in the medicine den. She tried to avoid the puddles, but all the ground was wet. It did well to remind her of her hallucination.

Littlescent continued to fidget and toss on the stone beneath her, finding it harder to concentrate on the stars above.

 _I need your wisdom, StarClan. I really need it. I know you're not speaking to any cat, but this is important. I had a flashback earlier, but it wasn't an ordinary one. It was more like a nightmare. I was wide awake and it just… hit me all of a sudden. I don't even remember falling asleep._

Littlescent tried as hard as she could to remember what could have led up to the nightmare. She knew it was about her time in the firestorm, but she could not tell why she would dream about it right then and there.

 _Maybe I should wait until I see Yellowstar to have it interpreted. It could be a sign from StarClan. But if it is, why me? And why_ that _of all things? Why did I have to dream about someone who died at… at my own fault?_

 _No, I need to take my mind off that. I need to focus on StoneClan right now. Getting yelled at by Fleetheart sounds wonderful right about now. Just hearing her voice is enough…_

A stone flipped into puddle deeper in the tunnel. Littlescent jumped to her feet and unsheathed her claws.

A large shape was moving towards her. Littlescent did not back down even knowing it could only be one thing.

"I see you still awake," a deep voice said.

Littlescent took a deep breath to calm herself. Her fur flattened as she sat back down on the damp ground. The familiar dark brown figure of Horsepelt emerged from the shadows and into the dim moonlight.

"The sound of that Twoleg thing always shuts off at night," he said pointing at the large, brown container near the guarded entrance. It lay motionless and silent, leaving the dripping water as the only sound to echo through the tunnel.

"We can usually hear it at top of the bridge during day, but it's always off this time."

Littlescent shook her head and looked at the wildcat tom.

"It's not that. I haven't been sleeping much since I've been here. I've always been awake, thinking about stuff. The first night I was here."

"Thinking about what I told you?" Horsepelt sat upright next to Littlescent and also began gazing at the stars.

"That and… a few other things," she responded. "I've been thinking about StarClan's role in everything that's happened to me and you so far."

"Sounds like intense thought. I normally leave that thinking to Mousetail." The large wildcat shook his fur out. "What are those 'things' you think about?"

Littlescent took her eyes off the wildcat tom and gazed back at the stars. "Today I yelled at one of the wildcats."

Horsepelt looked on, confused at her statement. "And something wrong with that? We shout at each other a lot."

"That's kind of what Mousetail said, too," Littlescent said. "But it's not normal for me to do anything like that. I insulted him and his elders to his face. It's… I'm sorry. You asked me if I was thinking about what you said and I'm talking about what happened to me."

"No, I want to hear about you. I like talking to you without having to look over shoulder like I had to do at borders."

The StoneClan warrior looked down at her paw. It was bruised; an injury she had got surviving the firestorm. "While I was with Mousetail, I had a hallucination. But it wasn't an ordinary one. I don't even remember leaving the pool. And I felt pain and heat, and it was about… something that happened while I was in the firestorm.

"I had… couldn't get to a trapped pet. I watched her die, and then I just left. In this nightmare she taunted me, pleaded with me to save her. Then I started feeling her pain. Literally feeling her burn while I watched her… do you think it was a sign from StarClan?"

Horsepelt looked on at the stars. "A lot to take in at once. Let's go through in parts. So you yelled at wildcat, you had a weird nightmare in medicine den, and you thought about both those things and my words until I came in, right?"

"The way you say it makes it all sound so easy," Littlescent said.

A warm night breeze slipped through the massive open entrance. It felt good on Littlescent's short fur, warming her to make up for the cold area she was in.

She jumped to her feet. The grass rustled, following its sound. She readied herself to pounce into the clearing in front of her.

"Slow down," Horsepelt said. "Remember where you are. Why we stealth-kill a captive surrounded by wildcats?"

Littlescent, again, began settling her beating chest and sat back down on her stomach.

"And that. I'm really, _really_ jumpy. I'll flinch at anything now."

"Well your strength is coming back," Horsepelt responded. "That's good. Those burns looked pretty bad. More concerning, though, did you sense us coming?"

"What do you mean," Littlescent asked.

"Did you sense us coming? If you had, you wouldn't be jumping when we show up. Damp air here may be strong, but wildcat scent stronger. Trust me; even untrained kittypets sense us without mud-herb screens."

She had not thought about that before. She did not sense any of them coming, even though there was no reason not to. She knew now it was more than frightening thoughts.

 _StarClan above,_ she thought. _Just what am I losing right now?_

"You okay," Horsepelt interrupted. "Should I go?"

"No, please stay. I was just thinking… would it be strange to say we have a role in Mousetail's words?"

"What you mean?" The tom looked at Littlescent sternly.

"I'm talking about Mousetail's prophecy. If other clans rise, everyone falls… what do you think about both of us interfering with StarClan's judgement? How we both want agreement, how we don't think fighting is an answer. Neither of us seem to believe her prophecy since we're working to bring the clans together, right?"

"About that work." Horsepelt lifted his head back to the stars, watching a wispy smoke cloud blur his view of them. "I want to act on what I think. I have opportunity. Something big going to happen and it will involve us – both of us – to make it happen."

Littlescent's ears perked up at her friend's words. "You mean you're going to talk to Eaglestar about peace… but what about the rest of LeafClan? I saw them reject your plan."

"I'm not talking to clan and I'm not talking to Eaglestar about peace. This different; it must be or clan won't accept it, as you saw."

Littlescent took her gaze from the night sky to avoid drifting into thought. She was eager to hear his progress from a common goal. A slight draft was what remained of the wind. It carried the scent of ash, causing Littlescent's nose to curl. But she was too eager to listen to complain about a scent that now coated the air as she usually would.

Horsepelt shook his fur out. "I came down here to tell you we leave for talks with StoneClan this moonhigh. Border patrol caught group looking for you. We thought we'd be able to hold you longer, but what's done is done. Eaglestar bringing you along to prove we have you. From there, we negotiate your life for your clan's surrender."

Littlescent ears flattened. "Longstar would never surrender the clan for anything. Not even my death… but I don't want to die. Not here."

"You have my word you won't die as captive. I promise you. I can't stand to see you in pain. But with these talks comes chance. I want to control talks from your death and your clan's surrender to some middle ground."

Littlescent shook the ash from her fur. "Maybe you could get your clan to ease up on the threats and we could be more open to you hunting. Longstar would go to war before surrendering, but only if there's no other choice. And he would take any other choice."

Horsepelt arched his back to stretch, his fur blowing calmly in the breeze. "I been thinking about what Longstar would do. More about what Eaglestar would do. I believe they both act in best interest of those before them. Longstar to Bonbon, Eaglestar to Wolfstar. If so, it means neither want war. Both will not tolerate needless bloodshed."

"How will you convince your own clan to accept it?" Littlescent asked. "I saw them reject any sort of negotiations before."

"They may not like your clan," he responded, "but they hungry. We all are. They will take food and peace before they take war and hunger, I'm sure of it. Talks will be hard, but Eaglestar probably allow you to speak. With your help, we can end our hunger, rebuild clans, and prove Mousetail's prophecy wrong."

Littlescent turned her gaze back to the stars. The breeze continued to flow as the grass near her rustled again. She held back a reaction.

 _Finally, the chance I've been looking for. The chance to show both clans what we can do if we just don't fight. It should be easy to show the others._

"I be back when time to leave," Horsepelt started again. "Again, be ready for moonhigh."

The wildcat stood and stretched his back again before padding towards the guarded open entrance.

"Wait," Littlescent said back. "What about what you told me?"

"We have to talk about that later," he responded. "Right now we must focus on meetings. I'll see you there." He took one last look at Littlescent before leaving her alone with her thoughts, as she was before.

The wind ceased blowing. She felt an unusual calm as her mind was taken off her ordeal from earlier and the fact that she may be losing her senses. She thought of nothing but the meeting, and how she would finally have her chance to show the clans that peace could prevail.

 _I have to think about what I'm going to say… if I'm even allowed to speak. But Horsepelt said Eaglestar would probably let me. The talks_ are _about me, after all. I've just got to think about how I'm going to address the other cats._

 _I already know that Longstar would never want to go to war, but I'm not entirely sure about what Horsepelt told me earlier about his clan. He said they would rather be fed than fight us but when he was giving his speech in that meeting last night, they seemed to have enough of us. And he even said Eaglestar wanted Longstar to surrender. Surrender our territory I suppose._

Littlescent looked towards the entrance that was guarded by the two hidden wildacts.

 _Just like Horsepelt, I can't afford to think of what could happen if Eaglestar gets what he wants. I should just focus on what I can do to help the ideas of Bonbon prevail… still. I should have brought up what I thought about Horsepelt's words earlier._

 _I wanted to tell him it was all in the past, but that's not what he would've wanted to hear. I should think of a better answer before I tell him about that. It did affect his clan greatly. And that war during Bonbon's rise is the one thing that's going to stand between me and peace…_

Littlescent took a deep breath and shook her pelt vigorously. Too much so when her head felt like it was going to float away and her legs grew weak. She waited for it to pass before walking away from her spot in front of the large entrance and towards the smaller one.

 _Yes, even my body wants me to stop thinking about that and more about the peace… or it could just be telling me it's not ready to be worked yet. Probably that. But I'm glad that we're finally talking about this._

 _I'll be able to see Fleetheart about my injuries. I'll be able to sleep in the dry dens of our camp. And I'll be able to see Panzer, Longstar, Wolfgang, and all the others again. Maybe Sharptooth has gotten better since I've been gone… I've never been away from the clan for so long, not even a night, without seeing clanmates._

Littlescent walked around the brightly lit entrance. She could not sense the two wildcats that she knew were guarding it, her lack of sensing them not worrying her like it had before. She found a spot in the corner that was now completely dry, right next to the shiny brown Twoleg object. She curled up, no longer bothered by her small scratches.

 _In just a short while,_ she thought, _we'll be the ones to begin saving the clans. Not drive them to peace, but unify them._


	22. Chapter 21

Moving had proved a little easier for her now. Littlescent no longer fought the urge to scratch at her once annoying cuts, nor did she feel as if she would give out under her own weight. But she could still feel her right flank ache from the burn.

 _Mousetail did well to heal me,_ she thought as she walked along the warm, cracked thunderpath. _I just sorry I never got to thank her for treating me so well._

She curled her nose with every breath she took of the foul, ash-laden air. The four wildcats that surrounded her seemed to ignore it. They resiliently padded down the thunderpath towards an alley, silent.

The once mighty structures that the group walked near lay in ruins. But the thunderpath was clear, as they had collapsed into themselves instead. Littlescent tried to look up at the sky, to take her mind off the strong burning scent, but sky was coated with a thick layer of smoke flowing tightly in the wind.

Her wildcat escorts were tall, each of them more than twice the small warrior's size. She knew it was unnecessary, but they would have it no other way. She could barely see her surroundings past any of them, assuming it another necessity to them.

 _A shame. This would've been such a refreshing wind. I get out of the musty area under the bridge only to go down a thunderpath where the Twoleg nests are probably still burning._

The wildcat in front of Littlescent, who she learned was Pineheart before she left, flicked the tip of his tail down twice. She looked around, trying to make sense of the motion, watching Pineheart turn around as the other wildcats stopped moving. One of them pinned Littlescent's long tail to the ground to prevent her from moving. She winced at the pain as the other three cats just glared at her.

Pineheart kept moving towards some of the rubble. He stopped in front of a pile of large stone. Littlescent, able to see in front of her, tried to peek at what he was up to. Pineheart sniffed around the area for a while and then shoved all his weight into the stone, trying to move it away from something.

The wildcat behind her stepped even herder on Littlescent's tail.

"Ouch, hey! It's not like I can run or anything—"

The wildcat to her left shoved his paw into Littlescent's face and pushed her away, making her tail hurt even more.

"Hey, stop—"

The cat to her right smacked her in the jaw. The one to her left shoved her face away again and hissed. Littlescent kept herself from fighting back, knowing she would lose and, worse yet, jeopardize her and Horsepelt's plans for peace talks. She remained silent, just barely flinching as the wildcat behind her kept his weight on her tail.

Pineheart had finally moved the stone a tail's length away from where it was. He padded into a now open clearing, sniffing at a heap of black fur. He grabbed it by its neck and dragged it back towards the group.

 _That collar… it's one of the pets. It must have been among those who left me during the firestorm. Poor thing got lost and ended up all the way over here._ Littlescent felt a numbing in her stomach that made her ignore the pain her tail was in.

Pineheart dropped the dead cat nearby. Its eyes lay open, glazed over with dry blood. They blankly stared at Littlescent. She cringed at the sight of it, looking away and trying to keep her mind on her situation.

The wildcat to Littlescent's left walked up to the dead cat, helping Pineheart wrestle the collar from its neck. It was a large, brown strip with a silver ball at the end. Littlescent thought of the collection of collars she had heard about from other cats. She thought they were just trying to add another.

The two finally wrenched the collar free of the dead mass. Pineheart stared straight at Littlescent. His small, green eyes narrowed even further at the sight of hers. He moved his tail into her view and slapped it on the ground. The wildcat at Littlescent's right stomped hard on her paw. She yowled as she tried to free it.

The one behind her forced his weight on her rear. Her legs quickly gave out under him.

"Hey," Littlescent shouted. "Eaglestar said not to hurt me. I heard him before he left!"

The wildcats ignored her. The one to her left took his weight off Littlescent's paw and wrapped his jaws around her neck. Littlescent stopped struggling, holding as still as she could. The wildcat did not bite down, but held her close enough that she could feel his jagged teeth and hot breath.

The wildcat behind reared up, resting his front paws on Littlescent's lower back. She flinched enough for the other wildcat's teeth to scratch at her neck. They had her completely pinned. She could barely look up meet Pineheart's gaze as the other cat continued to fidget with the collar.

"Pineheart," Littlescent started. "I couldn't run, I couldn't fight, now I can barely move!" She felt the wildcat at her neck nibble, teasing a killing bite. "What's the point?"

A warm wind gust blew down the thunderpath, bringing specks of ash along with it. Littlescent could barely smell it with the strong scent of the wildcats so close to her. The senior carefully put his paw on Littlescent's head. She tried to fight back whimpers as the wildcat on her flank moved around, agitating her wound once again.

"I hate kittypets," he finally said, motioning to the dead cat. "I despise them. They help Mousetail's prophecy become truth. You nothing more than kin of pets. Scavengers, rouges, thieves. Your whole clan is scourge of this land."

Pineheart pointed his tail behind him, and the other wildcat with the collar forced it under Littlescent's head to her neck. Pineheart slammed her chin as hard as he could on the ground. Sharp pain ran all the way down her neck and her vision became clouded with small, white dots.

He kept pressure on her head, leaving her completely still, unable to make a sound aside from painful mumbling. Littlescent could feel a trickle of blood forming in her mouth from where a fang had been knocked out.

"Little stone cat," Pineheart continued. "Be thankful I can't kill you. You would've been first ever cat I tortured. You would have more pain than Place of No Stars could inflict… but I have orders."

Pineheart whisked his tail up. The wildcat holding Littlescent's neck let go but quickly bit into her left shoulder. She muttered in pain, taking the moment to squeeze the fang and blood from her mouth. Pineheart and the wildcat next to him began wrestling with the collar again, trying to get it around her neck.

"I never planned to do this," he started again. "But Eaglestar should understand extra measures. Will probably be more of them than us this time. Can't have you running off and them with you, can we?"

The cats got the collar around her neck as tightly as it would go. Littlescent could feel the silver ball at the end of it press into her neck as Pineheart continued to force her into the ground.

"Assuming your clan surrenders," he continued, "you have that off tonight. So be good kitty at meeting and don't cause trouble." He moved his paw from the top of her head to under her chin and forced her head up.

He motioned to the wildcat at his side. He moved over and began swatting at the small silver ball around Littlescent's neck until a _clink_ sounded. As Pineheart let her head snap back to its normal position, the ball jingled around. It was easily loud enough for any animal to pick up without even seeing her.

"There," Pineheart said. "Now you look how kittypets before you did as they fought. Stupid things get them killed so often I've lost count."

He stared at her for a moment more, defenseless and completely at his mercy. He hissed and smacked her across the nose, causing the wildcat around her shoulder to flinch and bite down.

"Gah! Get off me!" Littlescent nearly lost herself and started thrashing, but quickly stopped when the cat sitting on her flank drew his claws.

"I told you not to make trouble. You do it before we even get to meeting. Eaglestar would find it easy to believe you were killed trying escape. Please, tempt me."

Littlescent forced herself calm. She took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. With that, she felt the weight of the two wildcats holding her down leave.

She left herself on the ground for a moment, legs outstretched, her face in pain, and bite marks around her neck and shoulder. And the dirty, blood-stained collar of a dead pet around her neck; it felt worse to her than the new wounds.

Littlescent slowly rose to her paws, the four wildcats resuming their blocking positions around her.

 _To be humiliated like that. By a bunch of savage… by a group of wildcats. A group with both good and bad reasons to hate me… I must remember what Horsepelt said. They don't like pets, they didn't like Bonbon, and they certainly don't like us any more now than they did then._

Littlescent was about to shake her fur when Pineheart roughly brushed his tail across her face.

"No shaking for you," he said. "Now you look like a real captive. Walk!"

He flicked his tail forward and began walking. The other cats, boxing Littlescent in even closer than before, followed.

The wind resumed its warm gusts of air fouled by the ashes of nearby fires. The stone-covered thunderpath felt even rougher than it had before. Littlescent hated what she just went through, but tried to concentrate on what she wanted to do.

 _Just hold it together, Littlescent,_ she thought. _You've been through worse. They have every reason to hate us. Just focus on Horsepelt's words. 'They're hungry.' That should be enough…_

Littlescent noticed the usual meeting spot took much longer to get to from LeafClan's camp. And all the longer journey did was remind her how much pain she was really in.

The wind gusts began tormenting her once more, as if all the work Mousetail had done was being undone, and worse, by what the wildcats did to her. Bite marks in her right shoulder and scruff were exposed by her thinning fur. She knew they were not bleeding anymore, but they still stung.

"Keep going," Pineheart said. "And stay silent."

Pineheart hopped over the snake-monster paths first, looking for signs of other cats. The other three around Littlescent forced her from the cool rocks beneath her onto the snake-monster's path as Pineheart waited for his signal.

 _I can see it better from here,_ Littlescent thought. Looking down the path, she saw the crossing her clan would normally go through to get to the meeting spot. _There are still fires going on. It's been nearly four nights and they haven't stopped yet? It seems like there's nothing left to burn._

Pineheart flicked his tail in the direction of the wind; as usual with the wildcats she found herself downwind from the clearing. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to detect the faintest hint of her clanmates.

He motioned the three others to drag her across the path. Littlescent struggled to keep her balance with the three shoving and pulling at her legs and sides. Her new collar continued to jingle in the wind — the cats in the clearing having certainly heard it.

 _I still can't see any stars from here. The smoke's still in the way… I hope StarClan can see through it, though. I really need them here with me this time. No, more than any other time I've asked them to be with me. This is most important for all of us._

Littlescent felt her head begin to pound with every step she took towards the grove of trees in the center of the circular thunderpath. She could see the small, white dots threaten to cloud her vision again. Her injuries from four moons ago threatened her to stop. If not for the wildcats pushing and pulling her, she would have given into her body and passed out.

Pineheart broke from the group and sprinted into the nearby trees, leaping into the raised greenery. Along the edges of the snake-monster path, new silverthorn followed as far down as she could see. She was glad that, at least, they took her around and not under it.

Littlescent saw one of the bushes under the tree rustle twice. The three wildcats surrounding her shoved her towards them.

 _Got to shake this off. I need to be strong for my clan. I need to help Horsepelt make peace._

The group made their way to the bushes, dragging Littlescent up into the bushes. Through the trees she saw the large rock that served as the meeting place. The three wildcats left her side and began circling the rock, leaving her alone to find a way up the rock.

"Here she is now," said the familiar voice of the former LeafClan deputy. Eaglestar looked over the edge to find Littlescent rearing up to jump onto the rock. She jumped, but only her front paws made it. Eaglestar bit down on her collar, dragging her up the rest of the way.

As she was dropped onto the hard surface of the rock, Littlescent's eyes immediately went to a grey and white form staring back at her with wide, bright blue eyes.

"Littlescent!" Fleetheart tried running to her friend, but Pineheart stepped in her way.

"Get out of my way," she responded. "She's hurt! I need to check her right now."

Littlescent – her vision returning to normal – saw the black-striped body of her leader sitting behind where Fleetheart was standing. She picked herself off the rock and sat as straight as she could manage next to Eaglestar, ears flattened.

"You said that she was fine." Longstar sat on the far side of the rock. Near him were Wolfgang, Heavyclaw, and Shortpaw. "And why is there a pet collar around her neck… she didn't leave camp like this."

"Extra measures were taken," Eaglestar responded. "More of you than us here. She small, easily slip away from large wildcat… she dies if you try anything."

Eaglestar began whispering to Pineheart. "What is meaning of this…"

On the far side of the rock sat Whitetail; Littlescent was glad to see that he seemed uninjured from the firestorm. Behind him sat Yellowstar, who was looking away from the scene, somewhere far off towards the sky. The shoulder Panzer had bit her on was now furless, leaving the bite wound visible and exposed to the dirty wind gusts.

Rather than Blueclaw, as she would normally see, Littlescent found a grey and brown-spotted she-cat about her side. Christa's orange eyes showed her sympathy and fear, just as Littlescent expected. Next to Christa, to Littlescent's surprise, was the small, grey tom that seemed so reluctant to come along. Regardless, Flaum stood proud.

"Well?" Whitetail asked. Littlescent returned her attention. "What is the purpose of holding Littlescent hostage?"

Pineheart looked at Whitetail in confusion. "Why isn't fluffy golden one talking? Why let your second speak for you?"

"Did Stars tell her she's too good to speak to us living cats," Eaglestar mocked. "Or did her precious Stars not protect her from fire-fallers that night like she thought they would?"

"How _dare_ you mock Yellowstar and the name of our ancestors! Speech like that is sure to make you forgotten quickly—"

Yellowstar rested her paw on his back. She still refused to look at Whitetail and kept her eyes off in the distance. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I… apologize for my tone. But please, do not take the presence of the Stars so lightly. It is a belief we all hold dear."

Eaglestar took a relaxed posture, curling his tail around his legs and letting out a long yawn. "Stars, Stars… they let me down since my birth. Worse yet, they let down my clan. When Wolfstar needed their guidance most, they left us."

A large, brown wildcat hopped onto the rock and sat next to Littlescent. She noticed he smelled a little different, like he had been digging.

"Sorry I late," Horsepelt said. "I found dead prey on my way over and had to find patrolling cat to take them back."

"Acceptable, Horsepelt," Eaglestar responded. He then looked directly at the two former pets, trying to hold back his scorn. "For those who not know this is new LeafClan deputy, Horsepelt. One of our finest hunters."

The breeze blew over the clearing. Even through the ash and soot flowed in it, Eaglestar noticed it carried the scent of StoneClan's reinforcements. They were hiding behind one of the tall trees that blocked off the clearing; a few were hiding amongst its branches, covering themselves in the leaves to avoid notice. But there was no hiding properly from a wildcat.

"I guess it's time to explain," Eaglestar said. Whitetail looked over at Littlescent out of concern, but kept his pose. Longstar glanced at Yellowstar, who was still sitting behind her deputy, still staring blankly in the distance. "Horsepelt."

The deputy sat up straighter. "Our clan been unable to find food for many nights now. Not news to you, but it worse now. Death of Wolfstar has shaken our clan. But he would rather see us save our clan than mourn to Stars.

"Even after that fire-faller attack, your territory has prey. Lots of mice and rats… some of our patrols even resorted to eating dead Twoleg flesh. There is little nourishment and good chance of sickness. Desperation your clan manage to avoid still."

The BreezeClan cats cringed at the statement, especially Christa and Flaum. They had lived with the Twolegs for so long; they could hardly imagine eating them in return for their care.

"Yes that's right, little kittypets," Eaglestar said. "Their charred bodies don't make food. Only the strongest of us can keep it down. Even then, not good enough… continue, Horsepelt."

Horsepelt nodded. "Our territory useless now. Your clan moved too close to borders. What prey was left, gone quickly. Your clan has hunted border regions empty. And while prey still scurries in your Lower Territories, un-hunted, we still search for nothing."

Heavyclaw shook his head. "We can't go back to our old camp. We've told you plenty of times that it was completely destroyed. The area's on fire, again, to make things worse."

"I'm aware of state of your Lower Territory," Horsepelt responded. "But now, life or death for us. Not enough hunting territory left for our clan. For every one stone cat we have four… your clan numbers greatly fell with that firestorm. More than half, right?"

Littlescent watched Horsepelt arguing his point, confused as to when he was going to make his move at peace. She tried to keep her head clear just for that moment, but fatigue was starting to get to her. She got a glance from Fleetheart, who had never taken her attention away from the warrior.

 _Come on, Littlescent,_ she thought. _Stay strong for the clan… just for Fleetheart if anything._

Horsepelt shook his fur before continuing, brushing against a drifting Littlescent to keep her alert. "Our points valid. Proof is all around. Wildcats here, and below us, are fed. Fed so they can catch prey for the rest of clan. We can't show up empty again. Not when wildcats start dying."

He brushed against Littlescent again. "What your clan went through was great tragedy. But now, we must avoid tragedy. With that, by order of Stars, Eaglestar, Wolfstar, and majority of LeafClan, you are to give full access to your territory, Upper and Lower. Any resistance, destruction of your clan. Just like SapClan and Foxclan long before you… stay out of our way and you stay safe. I promise."

Littlescent could not believe what Horsepelt had just said. Her heart began racing and her head cleared up, ready to argue down what she thought were peaceful words. Fleetheart looked on with wide eyes, as did Whitetail and the other BreezeClan cats. Yellowstar was still detached from the conversation, and Longstar looked unimpressed.

Even Eaglestar was surprised to see his deputy go against their agreed plan. He leaned over to talk in the large cat's ear, shoving Littlescent's head down so he could reach.

"This wasn't part of plan," Eaglestar whispered. "You were supposed to demand clan surrenders territory and disappears."

"They'll fight," he responded. "If they fight, it's war. We could lose too many for gain to be worth it. We might even see prophecy through. This way is better. Just let me try before we go to war."

Eaglestar let out a low growl, loud enough for the others to hear. Fleetherat looked on, gritting her teeth and trying to keep her ears perked, trying to suppress her urge to charge to Littlescent's side.

"This doesn't work, we attack," he said. "I only listen for care of hungry ones… do _not_ do anything like this again. Remember who leader is."

The two turned back to the group, only to hear the disapproving growls and see the piercing eyes glaring back at them from around the meeting spot.

Littlescent sat back up when Eaglestar took his paw off her head, hearing the low growls nearby.

 _They don't sound happy. And they shouldn't be… Horsepelt how could you? We were in this to bring peace, finally, to the clans. Yet you still ask my clan to surrender in full?_

Longstar put his paw up, silencing fierce growls coming from his hidden warriors. "You want us to just let you all over? You'll hunt our territory clean just like you did to yours and then what? You'll only have the outlying forest to go back to after that."

Eaglestar continued to grit his teeth at Longstar, staring back at him.

Horsepelt spoke again. "We must keep peace; above all else, no more fighting. Or Mousetail's prophecy will be true… we all die if that happens. Let us in."

Wolfgang shook his head in protest. "And you expect us to roll over and give up our territory to keep from fighting? Oh, you come in here there _will_ be fighting. Count on it!" The other cats hiding below and in the trees began yowling back in agreement. Some of them even stepped from the shadows to let the wildcats see them.

Pineheart stood back in front of Littlescent, suspicious of their movements. Heavyclaw stepped in front of Fleetheart, whose fur already stood on end, baring sharp teeth and ready to fight. Longstar once again held up his paw for silence, only managing to get to a few of them.

"We can't just give up our territory," he said. "We can't survive outside of it. There's nowhere for us go. And this breaks everything the Pact was created to solve."

Eaglestar nudged Pineheart out of the way, pushing Littlescent forward to the center of the rock by her scruff. He motioned with his tail for Pineheart to stand next to her.

"If you don't let us in," he shouted. "Your senior warrior dies. Cat with no scent seems too dangerous to leave alive anyway. Be glad I even captured her instead of letting my warriors tear her apart!"

The cats began yowling again. The StoneClan warriors all made themselves visible, swiping and hissing at the group of wildcats. Even the ones below the rock were now pushed back in a corner by the moving warriors.

"Enough! Stop this!"

The sound of Longstar's shouts were enough to back his warriors down. They continued to bare their teeth at the wildcats, who were ready to attack themselves, as they returned to their previous hiding spots and lookout points. But not one of them took their eyes off the LeafClan group.

"Killing a cat from another clan violates our Pact. By killing her, you resume the war that took us so long to end. Our clans will be driven to dirt with nothing to show for it. Wolfstar knew that, and you know that, too."

Eaglestar contained himself again, taking a deep breath and shaking his pelt in the passing wind gust. "You don't know what it like, to watch your clan die from something it cannot stop. Even you know Bonbon would never allowed clan to starve in front of her. She would break Pact, too, if it meant saving clan. Just as I do now."

"Then let Littlescent go," said Fleetheart. "We can work this out without using her just… please let us have her back."

"No, no," responded Eaglestar. "No. You take Littlescent, then you go back to your camp and set up defenses. All that does is force us to take it, which means fighting. What Horsepelt says, I approve. Our clan can feed ourselves without single death from any side. Of course, you can hunt what's left."

"There won't be anything left if you wildcats hunt it all!" Wolfgang had not back down from his hostile pose. His apprentice just stared at him, surprised from his continued aggression. "Your clan will hunt _all_ the prey just like your territory. You'd be destroying both our clans for a moon's worth of food. Maybe even less!"

The StoneClan warriors began growling and hissing again. Littlescent could almost feel the hum of their anger.

 _We… we can still work this out. No one has to die, and no one has to starve. I'm sure there's a solution for this._

"Just hold on," Whitetail said, his ears perked as he stepped away from his group and towards the center. Pineheart did not growl, or even look at Whitetail as he approached Littlescent.

"There is no reason why this situation cannot result in peace. Why can we not just help you relocate? There are some areas beyond StoneClan's Lower Territories that still have prey running around."

"Stay out of this, Star cat!" Eaglestar's glare forced him back a little. Yellowstar, still staring off into the distant sky, remained still. "BreezeClan does what it will, but stand in our way, it'll be your head. Know that, little white one… and make sure your leader knows. Wherever her mind is."

The cats took a brief pause to stare at Yellowstar. She did not even notice her new attention; she just continued to stare off in the distance, unable to see the stars from her view. Longstar closed his eyes and lowered his head, silently praying for his friend.

Eaglestar used the break to look around at the other warriors. All eyes were on Littlescent, her bruised face and bleeding under her collar taking most of their attention. Especially Fleetheart, who had not taken eyes off her friend for even a heartbeat.

Littlescent leaned back, taking in the wind gust that blew onto her exposed skin. She could not feel if it was warm or cool; the toll of Horsepelt's decision was still weighing on her. She tried to look at the stars, but a cloud of smoke from the nearby fires had blocked out the view again. With that, she was swiftly reminded that she was not a free cat. And that, if she were to be free again, what kind of life she would be going back to.

"No need to force it on you right now," started Eaglestar, breaking the silence. "Because this seems like hard decision for you, we give you until next moonhigh to decide. We will be along borders next to your camp. Come full force if you want, it be meaningless against our numbers and strength. Longstar, surprising you didn't make decision faster. Your territory over the life of your clan, and this tiny cat. I thought decision would be clear for you."

With the flick of his tail, the three wildcats circling the rock quickly padded to their leader's position above them. Littlescent cringed at the way they eagerly bore their teeth and licked their fangs when they looked at her.

Pineheart stepped away from Littlescent, allowing her to clearly see Fleetheart's gaze up close.

"Littlescent," she said, "I need to help you… your injuries—"

Just as she was reaching over to her friend's face, Pineheart bit down on one of the loose straps on Littlescent's collar. Holding it in his mouth, he began walking back towards the edge of the rock. Being literally half his size, Pineheart had no problem dragging the limp cat around.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Fleetheart jumped to her paws and approached her wounded friend, only to be hissed away by Pineheart.

"You don't take her," he responded. "She ours still."

"Then let me talk to her. She deserves to know what's happening with her own clan!"

"What part of 'captive' you not understand, little loud one?" Pineheart stared down Fleetheart; his overwhelming size did not intimidate her. It only made her allies angrier as they began hissing at the large wildcat tom.

Whitetail and the rest of the BreezeClan group stood motionless as Yellowstar put her paw to her deputy's back once more. She would not allow them to get involved, and still stared off into the night sky.

"Wait." Eaglestar looked back from the edge of the rock. The other cats settled again as Longstar raised his paw to silence their cries. "Go ahead, Pineheart. Let them speak to their little scentless one. Let them tell of troubles of both false clans. You stand right at ledge. Kill her if she tries to run."

Littlescent felt Pineheart's grip on her collar disappear, but leaving it tighter than before. She grew dazed, feeling like she could not run even if her clanmates forced her to.

"Let see… you, little loud one can stay and talk to her. And from breeze cats… second stays. Everyone else leaves, now. Or your cat dies. Pineheart can kill faster than any of you can grab."

Eaglestar hopped over the ledge – followed by Horsepelt – leaving the large LeafClan warrior at the ledge to keep Littlescent from escaping. Longstar's ears dropped and he lowered his head, unable to look at his captured warrior. He padded towards the ledge and hopped off, followed by Wolfgang, Shortpaw, and Heavyclaw. The warriors hiding among the trees receded until they could no longer be seen.

Whitetail padded towards Littlescent, sitting next to Fleetheart. Yellowstar finally broke her gaze with the distant sky and motioned the others. Then she hopped off the ledge.

Littlescent was hurting worse now than before she had left. And it was not just from being beaten before the meeting. She felt betrayed by Horsepelt for his actions. She wanted to just let herself slip into unconsciousness and rest. Her desire to question Horsepelt kept her awake.

She managed to catch the orange eyes of another cat. Christa looked back at her, as if she was feeling the same pain. And then she hopped off the ledge, leaving the three cats mostly alone.

"Littlescent."

A warm gust of wind blew past the three as Fleetheart rubbed her face across Littlescent's muddied pelt. She moved her head down the length of her friend's neck, to her chest, and stayed there.

Fleetheart let out a sigh. "Your heart seems fine. But you need rest you need… you need some stuff from Panzer. She can help you. We don't have a lot left, but I know she'll make do with what she has. She always does."

It was the first time Littlescent felt like she was back in StoneClan. She closed her eyes and returned her friend's actions, rubbing the top of Fleetheart's head with her chin. She ignored the stars, her pain, and Horsepelt at that moment. She just took in the warm breeze, the sound of the dried leaves rustling, and calm of the darkness. It had only been one night, but it was more than enough for her.

She opened her eyes and looked the two green eyes that glared back. Littlescent shrugged her friend off, sitting up as straight as her wounded body allowed her to.

"Fleetheart… Whitetail… tell me everything. Everything that's happened with the clans since I've been gone. That one night, I need to know. What is the state of our clan?"

Fleetheart returned to her sitting position and glanced at Whitetail, who was staring at the same spot that his leader was a few moments before.

"The pets that you rescued from the sky-monsters are now warriors." He shook his fur out as the warm breeze ceased. "We know it's only been four nights, but we have had help from Wolfgang and Shortpaw. They fight worse than apprentices, but we have no choice. Our numbers are far too few… And then there is the matter of Yellowstar."

Littlescent was curious to hear about her.

"Her leadership has faltered… she still feels guilty for going through with StarClan's older request, and believes she is responsible for the deaths of so many pets and StoneClan warriors. She refuses to forgive herself. She has passed on routine tasks to me and just sits in the middle of a field, by herself, all night. By day she roams in search of dead cats… most concerning is she will not even treat the wound Panzer gave her when she went to apologize. She attacked me when I tried to treat it for her.

"I do not blame her for what happened on that black day, no one does. Not even the survivors. But she will not have it any other way. She will not allow any other cat to take blame, being the one who suggested the call to action in the first place.

"Until Yellowstar has made peace with herself, I will take charge of BreezeClan. We were planning on wandering again, maybe even leave this place. But then we heard of your capture. We are few, but I do not want to abandon our relations with StoneClan just because things became more complex."

Littlescent squinted off in the distance, spotting a slow moving cat rustling the tall grass between the thunderpath and the rock. Whitetail looked behind him to see what she was looking for.

"Poor Yellowstar," Fleetheart started, "I have to apologize for what Panzer did to—"

"No," Whitetail responded. "Do not let her hear your apology. Shortpaw tried to do so when she was helping Wolfgang train the pets… she looked as if to kill the poor apprentice. She really does not want any sympathy."

The three cats were silent for a while. Whitetail allowed Littlescent to take in all his information.

 _Yellowstar seems pretty messed up from that incident,_ she thought to herself. _Panzer, it wasn't her fault. I swear when I get back I'm going to… well, talk to her about that. But whatever happens, I need to tell her Yellowstar didn't deserve getting attacked. No cat deserves a needless beating like that._

Fleetheart shook the warm breeze through her fur, and the smoke out of it. Littlescent shook in response, trying to keep the scent off her own pelt. When she finished, Fleetheart tapped her on the nose with her paw.

"Remember what I said," she said, "no shaking. You'll hurt yourself like that."

 _Thank you Fleetheart… I needed that._

The paw on her nose nearly made her drift to sleep. She forced herself to sit straight again, pulling away from Fleetheart's comforting presence.

"And what about our clan," she asked. "How's Longstar taking all this?"

Fleetheart's ears dropped again as she looked at Pineheart, who still stood far behind her friend with a menacing scowl on his face. She leaned in closer to Littlescent to speak. Whitetail did the same.

"Longstar isn't taking this well, either. Like Yellowstar, he thinks it's his fault for approving the plan. He thinks he was responsible for killing most of our clan. I've tried to tell him it wasn't, that it was the sky-monsters, but he doesn't listen to me. He didn't even listen to Panzer when she yelled at him. She just walked down from the top area of our camp and said 'Longstar is just as dead as Sharptooth' and walked away.

"She took control of the clan. Longstar isn't issuing orders like patrols. He hasn't even named a new deputy. He just sits in the open area of his den or on the top area of camp and stares at the fires. None of us can get through to him."

 _May you walk in eternal peace among the Stars, Sharptooth. You didn't deserve what happened to you, to die. You were just trying to help them. You were just doing your duty._

 _To think this could bring two strong leaders so low. It's such a terrible thought that they blame themselves for this when they're not at fault. After all, I was there with them when it happened._

"The clan is alright," Fleetheart continued. "They're still mourning all the loss. But since then, we've made great friends with the pets that did make it into BreezeClan. We've just been hunting, living, since then. Prey got harder to find, but with our lower numbers… it doesn't matter as much."

 _Even how I am now, I can still see you're in pain, Fleetheart. Then again, we all should be. So much happened in such a short time, and now I'm causing the clan pain. They are being asked to surrender now because of me. Fleetheart, I'm sorry._

"Hey!" Fleetheart broke Littlescent from her thoughts as she forced her head upward to look at the stars. "I don't want you to end up like some of the other cats, okay? I don't care what you think about what happened. You keep your head up and keep asking those Stars for answers. They may be silent, but the wisdom of all cats who have passed is still with them, including Sharptooth. Promise me you'll never stop believing.

"We need you, Littlescent. _I_ need you. I don't think… I _know_ I can't make it through this without you. If not for the clan, if not for yourself, do it for me… survive for me. Stay strong, Littlescent."

Littlescent felt Fleetheart's long tail wrap around her own. She wrapped it as tight as she could, almost until it hurt. But she did not flinch; she did not want her friend to let go.

"You'll be back to us," she continued. "We'll get this all worked out. I don't know how, but you'll come back to us. But you have to stay strong to come back to us, okay?"

Another pleasant gust of warm air blew past the three cats. The air no longer carried the light scent of other cats. They were truly alone now. There was only the inevitable to take the three away from each other.

"All right, you had fun. Time to go." Pineheart walked over and shoved Littlescent. "Follow me now."

He did not leave her much of a choice, as he grabbed the loose strap of her collar in his mouth and yanked her from her spot. Fleetheart jumped to her paws, their tails no longer entwined.

"Don't you _dare_ lay another paw on her!" Whitetail had to jump on top of Fleetheart, just to keep her from charging Pineheart. "You hear me? Not another paw!"

As if he was taunting her, Pineheart tossed his injured captive over the edge of the rock and into the thickest part of the grass, turning back to spit a menacing hiss.

"Littlescent!"

Whitetail used all his effort to pin the larger medicine cat as she squirmed and thrashed to break free. "Littlescent! Stay with us! Keep the Stars in your memories! Don't lose yourself!"

Pineheart hopped down from the rock; a gust had no traces of her friend's dried blood and collar. The two cats were alone now. The grey and white medicine cat buried her face in her own fur as she stopped fighting Whitetail's pin.

"You know, you need to stay strong, too," he said. "Littlescent needs to come back to someone solid… not like Yellowstar, Longstar, or I will be of any help to her now. She needs _you_."

"It's just not fair," Fleetheart responded, her face still hidden under her paws. "This isn't how things are supposed to happen… this is not how the clans were supposed to end."

Whitetail lifted himself from her and began to nuzzle her shoulders. The sky was still concealed behind a cloud of smoke that grew thicker with time. The scent of ash in the air grew even heavier as the gusts returned to a steady breeze.

Fleetheart lifted her head towards the night sky, but saw the same scene that she had been seeing since that day. She returned the deputy's gesture, rubbing her whole body against his.

"But I suppose you're right," she said. "I… I can only try."

Whitetail turned and rubbed the medicine cat on the cheek. "And you will succeed. Now, we should get going back to our camps. You know we cannot breathe this thicker ash in for too long."

"You're right. We should go… and thank you for that."

She quickly tapped him on the back with her tail as he hopped off the ledge of the rock, leaving her the last one there.

She closed her eyes and looked towards the sky. But before she even started praying, she opened her eyes again to the blackened scene before her. She glanced back down at her paws, the white patches of her legs dotted grey and red.

She shook her fur and hopped down from the rock as the ash began to slowly thicken. She knew the area would be lightly covered by morning.

"Heavyclaw's going to need help getting the fake-clawed thundersticks to the entrances again. Looks like I'm in for another long night."


	23. Chapter 22

The air seemed harder and harder to grasp as Littlescent continued to struggle against her collared body down the worn thunderpath. The warm breeze was now laced with the foul-scented results of the nearby fires. Horsepelt looked forward, occasionally allowing the small silver ball on the front of his captive's collar to take his attention.

A large rock tumbled down from the ruined nests around her, making her jump as it crashed nearby. Horsepelt glanced at the object for a heartbeat and did the same with Littlescent, her dirty fur lying flat at her sides. Then he fixed his eyes back on the path ahead, as if nothing happened.

The StoneClan warrior continued to look over her shoulder, watching the same Twoleg nests over and over again for signs of other wildcats.

"You've been looking at those since we left," Horsepelt started. "Pineheart left me alone with you. No cats patrolling this part of our territory. Nothing here, anyway."

She continued watching over her shoulders, eyes jumping back and forth between the collapsed dens and strange materials all around her.

Horsepelt looked up as the night sky seemed to grow even darker. He pointed his nose upward, taking in small wafts that quickly deterred him from continuing.

"Breeze is blowing straight down path behind us." He slowly observed the area in front of him, stopping on a seemingly clear alley that he knew would lead through the neighboring thunderpaths.

He tapped the distracted warrior on the shoulder. Littlescent swiveled around and let out a hiss, her fur refusing to stand. Horsepelt took the time to observe her mouth, finding the missing tooth that Pineheart had knocked out of her.

Padding towards the alley, Horsepelt looked behind him to see if Littlescent was following. She continued to glance around at everything but him, still fighting against her body.

"We keep going down these alleys, the breeze won't hit us as often. Less ash we breathe, the better. Takes longer to get back, but alleys won't have ash blowing around."

Littlescent stayed close behind the large wildcat. Facing straight ahead, she saw the blurred sight of Horsepelt's flanks, his fur darkened with the bits of ash and mud.

 _This collar… my pelt feels so heavy. I can barely breathe. As if enough wasn't happening already. Then_ he _betrays me. Betrayed our promise to end this conflict._

The pair entered the alley; a clear view of the next thunderpath lay ahead. Across it were more alleys that led through the rubble of the destroyed Twoleg nests.

Horsepelt glanced back in time to see Littlescent take her eyes off him. He moved himself to the left of her, staring straight at her collar.

Littlescent averted her eyes once more, returning to her task of watching the crumbling nests around her. Crossing the second tunderpath, she watched a fire burn from a destroyed war-monster. Its once-grey form had become just a twisted husk of charred, black materials, continuing to burn alongside the nests.

It was the first time since she was captured that she had seen any signs of Twoelgs. She knew they were not in it, though; the Twoleg warriors that owned it had fled long before. As quickly as she watched the monster's remains burn, it disappeared when the pair walked down the second alley.

Littlescent immediately felt herself rub against Horsepelt as he was forced against her by the size of the alley. She glared back at him, trying to get him to move away, but he had continued holding his stare right at the silver ball on her collar. It continued its never-ending, jingle as they moved through the alley.

"What are you staring at?" she asked. " _You're_ wildcats put it there. I don't see what the big deal is to you."

"They not my wildcats. Eaglestar's. And I never approved such needless actions."

Littlescent shoved Horsepelt into the wall of the alley and away from her. "Yet you're willing to ask us to just stand aside and let your clan hunt our territory. You went back on _everything_ I thought you stood for… Panzer was right. You wildcats are untrustworthy."

The pair squeezed out of the exit to the alley into another thunderpath. Aside from the smooth stones and burning debris that lay in the way, it was clear.

"You must understand why I did this," Horsepelt responded.

Littlescent mustered more strength to shove the large warrior in front of the wall that led to the alley. She continued down alone.

Horsepelt shook his fur out and calmly padded behind her, lightly stepping on her tail as it dragged across the stone-covered ground. Littlescent swiveled her head and growled with all her energy at the LeafClan cat, resisting the urge to swipe at him.

"What, you're going to beat me, too? Want to put another collar on me? What's the point of peacefully sorting this out, right? Why not just knock _another_ fang from me for shoving you? I didn't have to do anything to lose one last time!"

Horsepelt moved around the smaller she-cat further down the alley, shaking his pelt out as she slowly hobbled up to him.

"Why did you tell Longstar to surrender? Why didn't you try to work this out? You know we could've!"

"My clan made a decision," he said. "What I did still went against that. I was supposed to ask Longstar and clan to disappear. I told them to let us hunt instead, and Eaglestar accepted it. No one has to fight now or leave. Better this way."

Littlescent angrily swiped her paw at Horsepelt. He took the hit, barely flinching, no claw marks left.

"Better? Better! What about us? What about our clan? Your clan is still massive; you'll hunt our territory clean in less than a quarter-moon instead of helping everyone find new prey and territory. Then neither of us will have nothing!"

She took a downward swing at the wildcat, his head moving casually out the way. Littlescent noticed her breathing growing heavy against the tight collar.

"Please understand," he continued. "Anything is good alternative to war. That surely destroys both clans. Then Mousetail's last words from Stars _will_ be true."

Littlescent gasped for air, trying to fight for breaths against the collar and fight to keep herself restrained from tackling the large wildcat. She sat on the stone-covered ground, looking straight up at the sky. The narrow alley only allowed her to see the smoke whips in the breeze flowing above.

"The Stars will hate us for this," she gasped. "The clans are supposed to be protected by the Pact. If one clan – your clan – just stops following it, we're all going to suffer. You know Longstar won't back down, anyway. We could end up fighting!"

Horsepelt tapped her paw with his own; she quickly retracted it and glared back at him.

"Don't touch me!"

He shook some of the ash from his face, looking straight into Littlescent's bright-green eyes.

"We have to rely on each other, not Stars," he said. "Stars tell nothing. Moon after moon, no messages… since I been alive Mousetail's never heard them. And neither has Panzer or Yellowstar. You know that. Without Stars to guide us, we rely on our own judgement… better than anything they could've told us anyway."

" _What?_ " Littlescent snorted at the wildcat. Her ears angled back as she gritted her teeth at him. "You think you're clan did a better job than StarClan at deciding our fate? You've just asked a clan to go against the Pact _they_ established and let yours walk all over its territory! Our territory!"

Horsepelt drew close to the she-cat, looming over his angry captive with a dangerous snarl. "And what would _they_ have said? What would the Stars have said? They would have your clan feed us like kittypets until there be no prey for anyone! That _not_ how a LeafClan warrior lives!"

She screeched at the wildcat, threatening to bite him. Horsepelt drew himself back, taking deep breaths as he felt his fur fall flat again and his ears perk up.

"No matter how we live, or what Stars would say, they said nothing. And we in no position to wait for them any longer."

The short breaths were getting to her. Littlescent had to pause to straighten herself. She shook some of the ash from her fur, causing white dots to cloud her vision once more. She fought her body's urge to collapse right there.

"Horsepelt you betrayed everything you stood for. If anyone gets hurt over this, I'll… I'll—" Littlescent forced her paw between her neck and the collar, struggling to loosen it as much as possible. "You will die one night for this."

It was no use. She retracted her paw, taking short, rasping breaths, hacking and panting after her failed attempt to loosen the thick band around her neck. "I'll kill you… myself if I must… if anyone is hurt because of you."

Her vision blurred, she forced her eyes meet his and narrow. She felt her legs quivering beneath her, her breaths still raspy.

Horsepelt reached out once more to put his paw on her shoulder, but she flinched back once again.

"Don't… touch me."

Around them the wind continued to flow overhead, dropping small specs of ash with it. Between the wind gusts, the crackling of fire echoed down the two thunderpaths they were between.

Littlescent heard the faint hum far above her. The sky-monster passed over the two, its deep, fixed tone failing to take their attention from each other.

Littlescent forced her eyes to stay locked onto the narrow, hazel eyes of the wildcat that loomed over her. He returned her hard gaze with a soft stare, his tail flowing back and forth and his fur slowly dotting with ash once more.

The wind began to whistle through the alley. Littlescent continued to feel herself losing strength. Every gust brought unwanted warmth to her already heated body. She finally dipped her head away from him, hanging it low to the ground. She knew he had not broken his gaze, but she did not care; her body would not allow her to continue.

The large wildcat warrior lay flat on his stomach, putting his face right below hers. She refused to look at him. His eyes drifted back to the small sliver ball on her collar that continued its melody as the gusts came down the alley.

"I value life of all cats. Your clan should not suffer because of some prophecy StarClan gave many moons before our births… I especially value your life. Precious to those around you. Peace for all cats… I see our future in you."

For a heartbeat, she glanced back into his eyes. But shoved his face away and slowly turned the other direction, raising her head and tail high to try and convince the tom she did not need to be worried about. She continued her light, raspy breaths as Horsepelt returned to his paws.

"Take me back to… that place you hold me in."

"Littlescent, don't do this. We don't have to be enemies. We could—"

"Take me back… now."

Horsepelt reached out his paw again, but drew it back knowing the response he would get. He slowly padded to the front of the small StoneClan cat and continued forward.

She followed right behind him, barely able to maintain his mild pace. But she angrily persisted forward, determined to show the wildcat any anger she could muster.

For a moment, the breeze ceased. The ash just sprinkled from the sky onto both cats. Even the fires in the distance seemed to die away. All the pair could hear was the silver ball on the pet collar. Its never-ending melody made Littlescent curl her ears with every step, unable to stop the sound no matter what she did.

She looked up at the black sky, but she did not pray. All she saw was the glow of the fires, the grey clouds above, and the ash flowing through the air.

Not a single star revealed itself.


	24. Chapter 23

She had returned to her thoughts, the twisted visions of the Twoleg nests around her and the sharp crackles of the fires that burned them.

She drew closer and closer to the fire, almost feeling its white-hot embers scorching her pelt. But it was not her it would harm.

 _Littlescent, help! It burns, it hurts so bad._

The faint voice of the she cat projected from the fire. Littlescent ran towards it now, the Twoleg nests and the inferno around her melting away in the void. The fire she ran towards drew further away.

 _Hurry, Littlescent. I don't want to die yet, please! Help me, Littlescent!_

She was in full sprint now, bolting across the rough terrain as fast as her body would carry her. Her pads grew hotter, but she kept pushing.

 _I'll be there, just please… hold on! Hold on, I'm coming!_

 _Littlescent! You must go faster! I can't hold on forever!_

She pushed even more, feeling the familiar ache of her bones, the heat of her body began to take its toll.

 _Help me! Littlescent… help me._

It was just her and the fire now; everything around her was black. She could see the twisted prison that the poor pet was being held in. She could see her body thrashing and beating against it as the flames began to slowly consume her.

 _Littlescent, I can't… I can't… hold on… Littlescent._

 _Yes you can! Yes you can just… wait for me! I'm coming. I will save you this time!_

The fire matched her pace. The closer she got to it, the faster it moved away. Fatigue began to take over. Her muscles ached, her mouth was dry, and her body was hot. Too hot to allow her to keep going.

 _No, no! Don't quit now! Useless body. Forget the heat, a cat is dying!_

She could not continue. She felt her sprint return to a trot. Her tongue slumped out of her mouth. She began panting as hard as she could in a vain effort to cool herself off. The pain in her muscles was excruciating, the burning agony blurring her vision.

 _Mousedung… I'm overheated… useless body…_

 _…_ _It's too late, Littlescent. It's too late._

Her eyes were fixed on the fire as she watched the form of the pet within catch. She quickly ceased her thrashing and fell to the ground, limp.

The fire grew once more. It began to surround her, consuming the black void around her. The ground collapsed from under her, sending everything into a freefall. But she was too tired to react.

She no longer felt her body; it just became a heated mess. Her skin felt like it was burning. She fell completely still, moaning in pain between her quick, raspy breaths for the air that became thinner and thinner around her.

 _I can't… I can't go on… I can't…_

 _You can't save me, Littlescent. You never saved me, Littlescent._

 _No, I… can't move… I'm sorry. This heat._

 _There are no excuses. You failed. You failed to save my life, Littlescent._

 _Please… please go away and…_

 _You failed me, Littlescent. You failed us all. All those innocent pets, all their lives wasted… all because of you, Littlescent._

 _Please go away and… stop saying my name._

The blaze completely surrounded her now. Hot wind blew from below, only worsening her heat fatigue.

 _You tire quickly, Littlescent. Or are you just slow? Either way your body did not fail you. You failed us. You killed us, Littlescent._

 _Please… go away… no more… I'm sorry._

 _You want us to go away, Littlescent? You already made us do that, Littlescent. Now it's time for you to go away._

The surrounding inferno crept closer, changing from orange to a blinding white. The flames licked at her pelt, but she continued to fall without resistance. Her breaths became heavy and deep. She was gasping for air that no longer existed.

 _Go away, Littlescent. Go away just like you made us do._

 _Let me stay… don't take me…_

 _Go away, Littlescent. Just like we did. Stay here with us, Littlescent, forever. Stay her with us, Littlescent, in the fire… yes; the fire is your new home, Littlescent._

 _Hel… Help me out… don't take me._

 _Go away, Littlescent. Just like us…_

Go away!

She scrambled to her paws. Her fur stood on end, claws unsheathed.

Littlescent looked around; she was still underneath the large Twoleg bridge where she was held before. The pitch-black walls remained unlit by the absent moonlight. She could not even see the snake-monster path further down the tunnel. Her fur waved just slightly in the moist, ash-laced breeze.

She found herself panting. Her legs already faltering beneath her, her vision still blurred. Little white dots soon clouded it as she fell back to the ground, landing right in a pile of mud.

The cool of the grime gave her no comfort. A stinging pain ran throughout the right side of her body. Her vision was still disorienting, her body still heated. She continued to pant short, light breaths as if the fire was still surrounding her. It took her a moment to get her bearings again.

 _This mud would've felt nice for any other cat_ , she thought. _Times like this when I wish I could cool myself the right way... Why don't the visions just leave me alone?_

She tried her legs again, but they refused to cooperate. She managed to sit up and search her surroundings again. She still saw the same dark stones that made up the structure. Towards her left, the brown Twoleg objects hissed and vented; they did not shine, though.

 _The moon must still be hidden._

She slowly turned her neck behind her, gazing upon the massive entrance that had let her see the stars before. The black haze remained persistent, not letting a slither of light through. Only the hot breeze came.

The small warrior began to slowly drag herself out of the mud puddle she sat in. White dots invaded her vision again. Strength sapped from her forelegs as she struggled to move even a pawstep forward. The panting became worse; she could feel the heat pulsing though her body as she collapsed again, only halfway out of the puddle.

Rolling over, Littlescent laid on her back, waving her paws back and forth through the air before falling back to her side. She looked towards her right flank. Her chafed and pink skin was covered in mud. She could feel the heat swirling around below it.

 _I… I don't think I've ever… let myself get this heated before. It's just… just like that night._

She dug her paw pads as far as she could in the cool mud, continuing to pant heavily and lie motionless.

 _So… this must be what it feels like… to be on fire. I… I don't like it. I hate this feeling. I wish I… could just be in the medicine den. Fleetheart… Fleetheart would know exactly what to do._

 _But I… it's only my second night here. Only two nights… and I'm already… I'm already dying. Wolfgang would be mocking me… Panzer would scold me… and Fleetheart would just… it doesn't matter._

She attempted, again, to drag herself from the mud. She could not even get her front paws out. She winced as she felt her body temperature rise even more. Breathing once again became a struggle.

Littlescent began moaning into the darkness of the tunnel. Aimlessly moving her head around and crying out whatever direction she was facing. Her jaw began to ache as she opened again. She fell silent as blood began to trickle from her missing tooth. Her stomach twisted in different directions, along with her head.

 _Am I really dying… it feels like it. My body is so hot. And I can't move… those wildcats… I haven't eaten anything since I was captured. I need… something. I'm just too weak right now. I'm just too weak._

 _Or was I always too weak… the runt of my litter. Attacked by my own mother. I don't even remember… I don't want to remember. I guess… I guess it doesn't matter anyway. If I was strong like my littermates must've been… maybe I wouldn't even be in StoneClan. I would be out there… a loaner. But I might be a strong cat._

 _I would be a strong cat. One who wouldn't get captured by wildcats… one who wouldn't make their clanmates worry about her. One who… one who wouldn't be the cause of her clan's destruction. I am the cause of all this. The wildcats… would've never made a move if I hadn't been captured. If I hadn't been captured, I could help search the ruins for cats._

 _If I hadn't been captured… I wouldn't have let Longstar and Yellowstar take the blame for what happened. It wasn't their fault… I was the one that was with them that night._

Littlescent hacked up some of the blood as it tricked down her throat. She waved around her paws in the mud, now warm from her body heat. She waved her tail around for the first time since she had woken. But she did not try to leave the mud puddle.

 _I deserve to be in this mud. Those pets… those pets were with me. They were my responsibility,_ mine _. And I failed them. I failed Yellowstar. Worse, I failed StarClan… I failed the Stars, which I pray to every night. The Stars that gave me this gift of no scent… now here I am, my own gift… turned against me like this. Is this… punishment?_

 _Is it? They will not tell me, anyway… they will not tell me anything. The Stars have never spoken back… not even to Panzer. Or Mousetail, or Yellowstar. No one in my lifetime. The Stars refuse to communicate with me. With anyone… and the others._

 _The wildcats… they are losing faith. Our clan… Fleetheart says our belief wavers. And Panzer is calling the orders because Longstar… poor Longstar. He grieves for what is not his fault. And Yellowstar… no. She would never lose her faith in StarClan. Not ever. Her whole clan is based on it. But she grieves… like I've never seen. I could've… I could've helped her. Just maybe if I wasn't here, I could've gotten through to her._

Littlescent tried nudging herself out of the mud puddle again, only managing to wiggle her tail out and move up slightly. Her panting returned as she felt her flank heat uncomfortably. She sat her freed front paws at the edge of the puddle, digging them into the soft ground.

 _But here I am. And everyone is watching me. My clan, the wildcats, BreezeClan, the Stars. Wait… are the Stars watching me? Are they? Or do they stay behind those clouds… waiting again. Waiting for us to destroy ourselves. Waiting for me to die?_

 _Or are they even waiting for me. Horsepelt doesn't seem to think so. I'm almost certain… that traitor stopped believing in StarClan, along with the rest of his clan. I still can't believe he went against me like that. We could've brought peace to both our clans, together. I'm sure Longstar and Whitetail would've agreed to it._

 _I wonder what Mousetail thinks about all this. I know she's watching, too. She's just watching it all, like the others. Panzer, Yellowstar, Mousetail… could they all have seen something different? Mousetail saw all of our destruction, Yellowstar saw us as saviors, and Panzer saw the rise of our clan. What was StarClan doing? Why would they send three different messages to us?_

She waved her hind legs as fast as she could, barely gathering the breath to finally push herself out of the mud puddle. Littlescent went back to her rapid breaths. She shut her eyes, losing her vision again to the white dots. Her flank was burning, but only her tail was left in the mud.

 _Augh! This burns… it feels like my flanks are on fire! Why this agony, StarClan?_

Littlescent's eyes floundered open, straining all her muscles to glance over her body at the large entrance behind her. The glint of the moonlight was absent; the night sky was still black.

Her head thumped back to the ground as she shut her eyes again. Her muscles stopped fighting, settling with the heat. She felt her body go limp and numb.

 _No answer... I've realized something. I've never had an answer from you. Every time I pray, every time I bless a fresh-kill, any time I speak about Bonbon, I get no answer. No response. Not even a signal to show you've heard me._

 _So… why do I still call on you for help? You're my ancestors. You're supposed to show us the way. But the way things are going now, there will only be destruction. That is, if our clan decides not to surrender._

 _You could've resolved this. Just give us another sign on what the clans are supposed to do now. I want to trust you. I want to continue to believe you control the fate of the clans with your messages. But I've never been alive to hear you. There are three separate messages. And you have never shown any signs that you hear my prayers, or the prayers of any other cat. Unless LeafClan is praying for our destruction, there hasn't been a whole lot of return from you, StarClan._

 _I should still believe. I still want to believe, but… it's so hard when all this is happening. Many cats have died at my paws; my clan could be destroyed because of me. My life as I know it is over. The life my clanmates know is over. And it all comes back to me. And all comes back to you._

Her body was closing in on her. It grew heavier as her head grew lighter. She knew she wouldn't last much longer.

 _Whatever you have planned… please, please show me. Show me why I must be tortured. Show me what my purpose is… because I'm not sure I can trust you like this. I'm not sure… I just need direction… don't let me go away without a purpose…_

Her body finally forced her back to sleep, leaving her unconscious under the dark sky.


	25. Chapter 24

The light did not wake her gently. It was dim, and cooler than normal. Nulled by the grey and black clouds of ash that rushed through the air, Littlescent could have hoped for nothing, anyway.

She slowly lifted her front paws, immediately hacking out everything she had left in her on the ground. Then she dropped back down. Her breathing, while not heavy and rapid, was difficult. Her sides did not burn, only her belly from being empty for so long. She could almost feel another round of vomiting coming on.

 _What's there left to get out besides more ash,_ she thought. _Can't you just leave me alone, belly?_

She knew resisting it was bad so she let it all out in one long, forced heave. Little came up, aside from fur and some black paste. The convulsions wrenched her empty belly, her body began to shiver in pain as she sat back down, looking towards the giant entrance behind her.

 _I think I should go and see Mousetail again. For what those heartless wildcats did to me last night… not that it mattered anyway. There's no good in any of these cats. The only one who hasn't hurt me, or thought about it, was Mousetail. But I can't really count her, I guess. She's a medicine cat. Unlike that brutal monster Flyfoot who suggests everyone kill each other._

 _And Horsepelt. I can't forgive him for what's going to happen because of him. That dirt-hearted… I guess he can't take_ all _the blame. His clan demanded he do something like this. And, despite what he says, this can't be in their best interest._

 _And then there's me… actually, it's a lot of 'me' lately._ I _was the one who got captured,_ I _was the one who let those cats die under my guidance,_ and I _was the one who didn't speak up at the last meeting. If only I had said something, just something, then maybe it wouldn't come to this. Maybe I could've helped the others_ —

 _No. No, this still goes back to Horsepelt. No matter what I want to think._ He _made the call in the end._ He _was the one who went back on his word. He doesn't believe in StarClan anymore… he's lost now. I need to forget about the Horsepelt I thought I knew from the past several nights._

Littlescent tried standing once more. Her paws wavered, her heavy breathing returned, and her whole body shivered and struggled to stay upright. She forced the arduous task of walking forward, down the tunnel and towards the debris pile at the end.

 _It's so frustrating. Frustrating to be this weak. This powerless. I can barely_ stand _straight, let alone swing my claws at anything. I bet I couldn't even catch a weak mouse._

Her vision became clouded with white dots. The burn on her right flank began to painfully throb again. But she forced trembling legs to keep her upright.

She had only taken a few steps forward. But she continued, despite her condition.

 _Eaglestar, Flyfoot, Horsepelt… all of you. StarClan will make you_ —

A snap broke her thoughts. She stopped, her ears erect, trying to find the source of the rustling. One of the small stone pieces was shaken from the large pile far in front of her. She walked towards it, searching the debris for a sign.

She sniffed the air, unable to get anything other than dry moss and ash. She continued, turning her head back towards the large entrance, seeing nothing but dim light from outside.

"I'm surprised you didn't find me, _blödmann_ stone cat."

Littlescent whipped her head around and bore her teeth. The dizzying action blurred her vision and finally brought her down. She lay in a heap, huffing for air and blinking rapidly to regain her vision.

"They _really_ got to you, didn't they? What'd they do? Bite and scratch? Threw you off a nest? Just beat you? I see they knocked out a fang. So all three, probably. And that's not even counting that stupid collar you're wearing."

Littlescent, her vision returning to normal, looked into the pair of bright yellow eyes that returned the gesture. The cat's brown fur was covered in bald spots; his face was almost completely furless. He leaned in close to her, sniffing at her limp body.

"Burn… how did you get in here?" Littlescent asked.

"Wow. I don't know much about medicine but your breathing sounds _terrible_."

"You… you're going to alert them just… just leave."

"Don't worry about that," he said. "There's almost no one here, right?"

"This is _LeafClan camp_. You can't just… come here."

He continued to smell her fur, moving over her body back and forth. "That's how you got here, wasn't it? You just walked in? But losing so much fur makes me almost scentless. Almost. We're both kind of the same like that. Luckily with how much of this city is burning I don't think I'll have to worry about leafbare—"

Littlescent shoved the brown-patched cat's face away from her body. "How are you here?"

"Hey, I wasn't finished," he responded.

"Stop... and answer my question."

"I need to see how easy it is to detect you," he said, continuing his examination from further away. "If you _really_ have no scent. And you don't. Absolutely none. Might be all this ash in the air, but who cares because now I can get you out of here!"

Littlescent looked wide-eyed at the tom, frantically looking around at every entrance.

"You need… to get out of here. Wildcats… will tear you to pieces—"

"Yeah, that's the thing," he said. "There _aren't_ any wildcats around. It's like they're all gone off somewhere… with so many cats you think they'd do better at guarding you. Then again, it looks like a hungry rat could kill you right now."

Littlescent tried to remember the last time she saw one. She remembered passing out when she got back to the camp, and seeing very few wildcats.

"So… what? That doesn't mean… they're _all_ gone."

He shook his head. "Not all, but enough are gone to not care about keeping an eye on you. That's what matters. This is the perfect time to get you out. Now come on, I'll help you stand."

Burn tried to shove his head under the injured she-cat, but she pushed it away. He tried again, pinning her front paws down with his own. She thrashed her body as hard as she could, forcing him to back away.

"I'm not… I'm not going." She hacked out bile and blood as she flopped motionlessly back to the ground, lying completely still once more.

"I don't get you, stone cat. Here I am to rescue you, and it looks like you'd die before you'd let me. What's with you?"

Littlescent couldn't blink fast enough to clear her head of the white stars and take the pain in her belly away. She tightly shut them and curled up as she felt another round of convulsions coming.

"Just… just get out of here… and don't come back. Saving me won't do you any good."

"Like your Stars it won't!" Burn glanced through all the entrances before continuing. "You're the easy way to my group's survival. If _I_ hold you hostage, then _I_ can use you to get my clan some food. I bet Longstar would be more willing to negotiate if it was food rather than his _entire_ clan."

"How… could you know about that? Wildcats… would've caught you."

"Far less wildcats at those meetings of yours mean I can hide somewhere nearby without getting caught, as well as scented out. Now I'm not going to play nice here. You're coming with me if I have to drag you out by your paws! I'm _not_ letting this opportunity go—"

"You don't understand what's happening," she whispered. "I _can't_ leave. They'll kill everyone… everyone if I try and make a move. It doesn't matter to them… whether I'm with them or not. They want to kill us… but know it wouldn't benefit them. So I'm the leverage to the rest of my clan… the burden. If I die or leave, then nothing stops them… from just taking our clan _with_ a fight."

Littlescent opened her eyes again as her belly untwisted. The white stars had left, but she still struggled to sit up and meet Burn's eyes.

"Just leave me, and get your cats as far away from us – from me – as possible. Before it's too late."

The patch-furred tom backed away, glancing back at the entrances. He began to circle the white and grey she-cat, his eyes continually observing her collar and small bald spots.

"Well, by the looks of your body, you don't have much of a choice. You _can't_ stop me from taking you. Not looking like that." He began to paw at the small, silver ball on her collar each time he passed it, being careful not to make it jingle.

Littlescent closed her eyes again and focused on her rapid heartbeat. She tried to control her breathing, letting out long sighs with every attempt. She had only managed to stop her head from throbbing with every beat, weighing her options.

Burn made another attempt at moving her. She tried to smack him away with her paw, but he had pinned her paws before she could. As he positioned his head under her she rolled over, tumbling away and no longer facing him.

Burn sat up again, shaking his head at the resistant clan cat. "I don't see why you're making this so hard. Eventually you'll pass out. Or I'll just make you. Either way, you can't resist forever."

"Longstar wouldn't accept your proposal," Littlescent said.

"Really. And why not, stone cat? Or are you just trying to stall?"

"No, hear me out." Littlescent took another deep breath to keep herself conscious. She rolled back over and stared into Burn's eyes. "The wildcats need my life to get StoneClan to surrender peacefully. If you take me now, the wildcats lose their negotiating power and are forced to attack our clan.

"How we are now, we could lose to them in just one attack. Everyone could die and we would certainly be driven away. And, for many moons, the only thing keeping the wildcats from killing rouges is your camp being within our borders. Without us, they will take over everything they see. They will patrol our territory to keep stragglers like you from hunting it."

Burn continued to glare into the she-cat's dull, green eyes. His tail dropped to the ground as he looked at all the entrances for wildcats.

"If you're that important," he said, "why aren't they guarding you? I've seen one wildcat since entering wildcat territory. _One_. And she wasn't even patrolling or anything."

"Look at me," the warrior said. "What you said is true. They've hurt me too much for me to move right now. Even if you forced me, I couldn't make it through the rubble blocking the way you came in. If you want my guess, they're all scouting our territory or out hunting."

The rouge tom let out a deep sigh, sitting close to Littlescent. "So you say they'll kill us if your clan gets pushed out? I wouldn't put it past them. They _really_ hate us… so now what?"

Littlescent couldn't shake the criticism she placed on herself. _Think, Littlescent. An opportunity is here. Right here, ready to help. So long as I negotiate right… he can't save me, I can't let him leave me here. I can use this for my benefit. To make up for what happened… the only way I know how._

Littlescent shifted her body towards Burn and sat up as much as she could, ignoring the small group of white dots in her vision. "You… you say you have no scent, right? And you're good at hiding and staying quiet, like me?"

"I've been known for those things," he responded.

"So I need you to do me a favor. In exchange, I'll let your group hunt on StoneClan territory."

"You're not the leader," he scoffed. "I want to hear that from Longstar himself before I go along with your favor."

"I can _assure_ you he will let it happen. Plus this idea can keep both our groups safe from LeafClan." She looked at Burn with as stern a look she could muster through her fatigue. He turned away briefly to think.

"You make sure we get food," he said, still turned away. "These aren't just non-believers and outcasts here. These are cats and kits that are going to starve if you turn out to be a liar. They'll die if I don't do something."

"Bonbon would've never turned away a cat in need. And neither will Longstar. Your cats will eat… if you help me."

He turned to face her. "Okay then. I'll do anything to keep us fed."

Littlescent flopped back down on the rough stone beneath her. Her breathing had slowed back to normal and the white dots had disappeared.

 _Is this the only way? The only absolute way to solve this? If I don't do anything our clan will perish anyway. And they aren't interested in peace at all… they'll get what they deserve._

"The meeting will happen at moonhigh. The one that will lead to our clan's destruction. Before that happens, I want you to kill Eaglestar, Pineheart… and Horsepelt."

Burn took a few steps away from Littlescent to check the entrances again. The only sound flowing through the tunnel was the echo of the wind from the large entrance some distance away. He then leaned in close again.

"That doesn't sound very possible, you know."

"Let me elaborate," she whispered. "You don't have to kill them now. Wait until they are distracted by the negotiations. Ambushes are hard to react to, even for a clan cat. Take your cats that are hardest to detect and, at my signal, ambush and kill them all. Quickly. And then run away. The rest will be taken care of after that."

Burn glanced at all the entrances, and scratched at his face with his paw. "I know what killing a clan leader could do. But why the other two?"

"Without Eaglestar, Horsepelt becomes leader. Without Horsepelt, they'd probably make Pineheart the leader. But without Pineheart, there's no one with authority left who agreed on attacking. The eldest of them, without Wolfstar, is Mousetail. She doesn't want to see anyone die. They would defiantly listen to her before they listen to Flyfoot, who's too young to convince them to ignore Mousetail on her own."

"So it looks like you've thought this one out more than I would've, stone cat," said Burn as he turned away from her to look at all the entrances again. He then stood and began to circle her once more.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Littlescent's ears perked up. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

She nodded. "All right then. But I did expect more resistance. I am asking you to kill a clan leader, along with the two best warriors under him. Even as an ambush that's going to be hard."

Burn stopped his pacing right in front of the she-cat. "It's not like I have a choice. I trust you to get us food. And there are others among us, just like me, who have burns that they use to cross borders undetected. But I can't guarantee you anything. No cat in our group has ever fought a wildcat and lived."

"It doesn't matter," she responded. "Even if only one of them goes down it will still be a heavy blow to them. I don't believe Eaglestar has StarClan's blessing of nine lives. But if you can only kill one… I actually prefer it to be Horsepelt."

"Don't you worry," he said. "I intend to get all three of them. They die, it helps us. And if what you say is true, we'll end up having to face them sooner or later. Might as well act now, especially since they won't suspect rouges."

Littlescent waved a paw in the air; all she could muster as a gesture of appreciation. "Thank you for doing this. I _will_ make sure your cats are fed if I have to hunt all the mice myself."

"Yeah… just make sure you're alive to keep your promise." He pointed to the small puddle of bile and blood Littlescent had hacked out earlier. "Give me a signal when you want us to pounce. We'll be hiding near Eaglestar by the time this all goes down. And no one will know we're there. Not even Longstar. So make your signal obvious, okay?"

She stared at the puddle. Her ears dropped back down and her tail shifted back and forth through her hind legs. Littlescent kept herself from tensing up as she responded to the tom.

"I should rest now," she said. "I'll make sure I'm fine when this all happens."

Burn looked around before facing the pile of rubble he had snuck in through. "Well then, we'll be waiting. And _don't_ break your promise. Or I might turn this plan of yours on StoneClan."

Littlescent watched the brown-patched tom pad away from her and back into the rubble. She tried to find his scent, realizing she wouldn't be able to even if she could smell anything.

She let out a deep breath, letting her body sulk back to the ground. She relaxed her muscles and let her limbs spread out as they wanted. She finally felt her stomach untwist, replaced by an unsettling weakness and calm as she stared at the pile of blood Burn had pointed to.

 _I'm still weak_ , she thought. _I still need to make up for what happened on that day. I may have started all this, but now I can finish it. I can't let my clan sit back and be driven away because I made a mistake. And now, I don't have to. StarClan or not, we will continue what Bonbon started._

 _Horsepelt… you're keeping all this going, aren't you? You're making this easier for Eaglestar. You made it so easy for him, so beneficial to LeafClan. At our expense. You were close to doing what we both agreed on, and you turned away at the last moment._

Littlescent's ears twitched as the breeze began to pick up again. What little light was coming through the partly open entrances was fading away. She could hear the scratching of the thick ash particles against the walls around her. For once, she was glad to be kept inside.

She closed her eyes, keeping her breathing regular and trying to calm her erratic heartbeat.

 _You used to be so good, too. Those times we spoke. When we first met… was it all a trick? Was it all a way to just learn about our clan's intentions? Our resolve to fight? Our plans to avoid your clan? Or did you just single me out, make me your target. Was I stupid enough to believe a wildcat truly wanted to leave our clan alone, after a prophecy like Mousetail's?_

 _You spoke so honestly when you addressed your clan, the moments before I was captured. Those savages rejected you and your plan. And you just accepted it as a failure. And joined them. I can see you haven't become one… yet. But you're helping them so well to bring our clan down._

 _You say it's for the safety of our clan. You say it's to keep them from killing us while we're weak. But you don't know a thing about us. You don't know where we have to go if you push us out of our camp. We'll end up like your clan, starving but unable to fight for more territory. I say that's even worse than letting us go out with a fight. Leading us off to badlands and letting us starve to death slowly while you watch… that's beyond cruel._

 _I don't have to worry about that now. I really don't want to see you dead, I really don't. You are the only wildcat I've ever been able to understand. But now that you're the force behind your clan, you must be dealt with. You've lost your way, Horsepelt. The only one of you with the Stars on mind now is Mousetail._

Littlescent felt her body grow weary from her previous conversation. It drove her to the fringes of sleep.

 _I don't care what the Stars think. I don't care what my clan thinks. I don't know how this will affect everything that's happening. I just want to see our clan safe, to see a future for StoneClan._

 _And if that means getting rid of you in such a way, so be it._


	26. Chapter 25

Littlescent could look up at the sky and see the moon, even if it was just between the breaks in the ash clouds. The rest of the area was just as she had seen it since being captured; rubble strewn around the thunderpaths, the once-tall Twoleg structures brought to ruin, and fires fueling the ash cloud that loomed above.

But this time, it was different. She was covered in small scratches from repeated abuse from the wildcats. Even larger patches of fur from her burn wounds had begun to fall off. She was hungry and exhausted, beaten and unhappy. But she was back in StoneClan territory. She couldn't help but feel content that she was finally setting her paws on friendly borders.

A yank at her tail broke her sentimental thoughts. One of the wildcats had it in her mouth, bringing Littlescent to a stop. The collar around her neck had been wrapped even tighter for what was about to happen. Littlescent took another look at the moonlight as Pineheart and the four surrounding wildcats conversed.

 _Don't let this happen. Not like this. I just wish you'd make the wildcats go away, and leave us alone… but we're past that point now. It's my turn to end this, StarClan. Just give me courage, and stay out of my way._

The wildcat behind her shoved her forward. Pineheart stepped directly in front of her and led her down the hot, empty isle towards the StoneClan camp.

As they approached her camp, Littlescent glanced past Pineheart's body, which made her ears and tail drop and her mind sink as low as when she was lying in the mud.

Many bright and sharp silver-colored sticks pointed out from the windows; the fake-claws. The rear entrance, through to the medicine den, was closed for the first time since she could remember. Several cats were sitting on the top level of the structure, overlooking the LeafClan party, hissing and swiping in her direction. They were ready for a fight.

But standing in the ash-laden area before the very front entrance, which remained open, were three cats: Longstar, Panzer, and Shortpaw. Longstar stood in front of both of them, glaring straight ahead at the wildcat party, presumably where Horsepelt and Eaglestar were. Panzer was just sitting in place, unimpressed by the large force. Shortpaw, with Twoleg stuff still wrapped around her lost ear, had crouched down next to Longstar ready to fight.

 _Wolfgang must be nearby,_ Littlescent thought, unable to spot him. _He's probably leading the group in the front holes, just as Sharptooth taught him. Which means Heavyclaw is on_ _the top level, ready to drop stuff down with the stronger cats. With our numbers so low, the other two sides must be completely unguarded, entrances and holes closed off._

The wildcat behind her yanked Littlescent's tail again to stop her. The two thin wildcats at her side each took part of her collar in their teeth and dragged her to the front of the group.

There, just as she thought, stood Horsepelt and Eaglestar. Both cats had already advanced forward, being no more than a tree's length away from Longstar in the middle of the thunderpath border. The wildcats dropped Littlescent right at Horsepelt's paws.

He looked down at her, trying to show as much sympathy as he could. But she had none of it, looking off in another direction and hissing.

"Settle down, little stone cat." Eaglestar thrust his hind leg through the ground and kicked as much ash into Littlescent's face as he could. "Stand before we say, you die here."

Her fur stood on end as the air grew cooler. The ash cloud let the moonlight shine down on the group through a large break. The breeze flowed through all the cat's fur as the two leaders stared each other down.

"Exactly one night passed, Longstar," Eaglestar shouted across the thunderpath. "Now have you reached decision? The little runt's life for all StoneClan territory?"

Longstar stood still for a moment, looking up at the stars as his darkened grey fur flowed with the breeze. Littlescent looked away, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

He turned back towards the other leader to respond. "No, Eaglestar. StoneClan will keep and hunt its own territory."

For a while, the brown and grey wildcat just looked around at the StoneClan cats. Littlescent imagined that Wolfstar had told him all about Bonbon's tactics, and that he knew what they were prepared for.

He waved his long tail into the air, motioning it towards him. Littlescent watched several thin wildcats pad to her side, and then more, and more. She soon found herself surrounded.

 _Only Pineheart is close enough to a structure for Burn to leap out onto him. Hopefully he just goes for Horsepelt, instead._

She began to look around the area. On the far side of the camp, she saw at least eight thin wildcats come forward from their hiding places in the rubble. At the camp's sides, several more wildcats emerged. The same happened on the other side. It left no room for any cats to leave the camp without meeting them.

Still more wildcats came from behind Littlescent, who was unable to keep up with their growing numbers; she had now learned why Burn was able to enter the LeafClan camp so easily.

 _They're all taking positions around the camp. They can do whatever they want like that. None of them can leave camp without getting slaughtered before they even cross the thunderpath or flee into the rubble... Burn, where are you?_

Eaglestar finally stopped staring at Longstar and turned his calm gaze towards Littlescent. His bright green eyes told her all she needed to know. She braced for the worst.

The large wildcat grabbed Littlescent's scruff in his teeth and pinned her. She didn't struggle, knowing it would be useless. He patted at her collar until it was low on her neck, exposing her scruff. She looked towards her leader, waiting on what he would do.

Longstar dipped his head and turned away from Littlescent. Panzer quickly stood and sat directly in front of him.

"You heard him," she shouted. "Get out. Or are you _begging_ to start something?"

"Begging?" Eaglestar shouted back. "I told you last meeting we would do this, brainless kittypet. Your clan territory now belongs to LeafClan. Leave now and we won't chase. You scurry back to whatever Twoleg den you abandoned."

Panzer shook her head. "And you think we're just going to leave? Just like that? Please. I don't know what that stupid badger-hearted wildcat was thinking to give you _any_ chance at becoming a leader."

"How dare you." Pineheart shouted as he stepped forward. "How dare you insult Wolfstar after death! Do you not have courage to say it to his face?"

Longstar spoke something to Shortpaw; they were too far for Littlescent to make anything of it. Afterwards, Shortpaw darted through one of the openings in the wall, easily dodging the fake-claws that stuck out.

Panzer shook her head and continued. "Not have the courage? I've stared that coward down before, during, and after the war so many times I've lost count. Death won't stop me from telling the truth about that scraggy, blood-lusting, overzealous liar!"

Eaglestar bore his teeth. His fur stood on end as he listed to the old medicine cat berate the former leader.

"You realize what happens to this little one if you keep talking!" He lifted his head, replacing it with unsheathed claws. He then stamped down as hard as he could on her back. "Little one here dies if you don't leave!"

"You got moss in your ears or something?" Panzer responded, looking uninterested. Littlescent's ears dropped as she now saw both her leader and her medicine cat look away from her. "I said we aren't leaving, so we _aren't leaving_. Did you hear that, hmm? Did you get that, or do I have to repeat it slower for you?"

Eaglestar let out the loudest hiss he could, forcing Longstar to look directly at the commanding leader. Horsepelt and Pineheart continued to stand, unmoving, at his side as the ash continued to flow through the breeze and rain down on the cats.

"Stop fooling around and leave! We're giving you chance to live. Longstar, talk sense into your stupid excuse for medicine cat."

"I'll try speaking like you then," Panzer responded. "We no leaving. We not leave camp. We live here, our territory. You don't, so you leave, see? You leave, we stay."

Littlescent could feel the wildcat's shaking paws on her scruff as he pressed down harder.

"My Twoleg had a saying for furballs like you," she continued. "She'd say _dummen jungen dinger!_ And then she'd point her spidery paw-things at the youngest of them who just did something stupid. That's you. You're the _dummen jungen dingers_. Little kits who are blinded by your own absurdity to—"

Longstar interrupted, tapping Panzer on the back with his tail while staring off to his right. Littlescent looked towards a growing plume of smoke from a nearby fire, flaring up with the breeze.

Soon, Eaglestar and the other nearby wildcats were trying to spot what he had. Through the smoke cloud, six cats immerged. Whitetail led Karl, Christa, Blueclaw, and two other small cats into the clearing. They kept their distance from either clan.

Littlescent let out a long sigh. Whitetail appeared to be on her side. She took the time to wave her eyes around as much as she could, trying to search for Burn again.

"And what are you star-eyes doing here?" Panzer asked. "This is between StoneClan and those forest savages over there. Best keep your distance before I chase you away myself!"

Whitetail kept his ground and held his chin high. The former pets stood behind him, unmoved by Panzer's words. But their ears were flat against their heads; Littlescent knew they had never fought clan cats before. But she was still more relieved than when it was just her clan.

"I speak for BreezeClan," Whitetail started. "And it is by the will of StarClan that all cats should be safe. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves in these hard times. Or the sky-monsters will not be the only thing that tears us apart."

"We aren't concerned with what Stars say anymore," shouted Eaglestar. "I'm here to feed my clan. You want me to let my cats starve because StarClan says so? No. StoneClan will move, and you stay out of our way. Or I order my warriors to kill all of you first!"

Panzer scoffed towards Whitetail. "Unless you're offering yourselves as food, your little message of peace isn't going to do anything about this. Just leave, Whitething, before you get those ones behind you killed. And tell Yellowstar-eyed to stay _far_ away from our clan."

"You won't have clan if you keep this up!" Eaglestar shouted towards her. Panzer responded by letting out a loud yawn towards the wildcat army, followed by her grooming herself.

 _Panzer, stop. You're only making everything worse by taunting them. Don't make me do this. Don't be the reason I have to call Burn._

The smoke behind the BreezeClan group dispersed with a quick wind gust. The sky seemed to grow more and more hostile; ash came down even heavier. Littlescent watched the last beams of moonlight she could see disappear. It was completely dark.

"Look at that," Pineheart shouted. "Breeze cats don't even have more hiding. Those ones are it. You should take bitter medicine cat's advice and leave while you can. We surround you soon enough. I'd be shame if I had to waste energy killing your group."

The white cat stepped forward, continuing down the thunderpath towards the StoneClan camp clearing. Longstar only stared at the group, while Panzer appeared to back away at their approach.

"Whitething, are you deaf now? You're going to get those ones behind you slaughtered. Don't be an ally-killing, Star-eyed _dummkoph_ like your leader!"

"You will address me as White _star_ now," he said. "I am in charge of BreezeClan, and we are staying right here."

Longstar dipped his head below his shoulders and closed his eyes; Littlescent thought he was praying for Yellowstar, assuming the worst.

Panzer hissed at the leader on hearing his decree. "I don't know whether to roll around, paws flailing, or to wail like a newborn kit. LeafClan wasn't even going to do anything to you, and here you are taking sides… you might as well just kill those five standing behind you. They're going to die anyway if you stay for the fight."

Whitestar stepped forward again, moving the group closer towards Panzer and Longstar. "There should be no fight—"

"Shut up!" she hissed. "You can't say that after _clearly_ picking a side. I hope your cats like the idea of being forgotten in StarClan. Because that's exactly what's going to happen when they all get torn apart by the savages over here.

"And as for the savages," she turned to face them, "no means get off our territory. Unless you're ready to deal with us right here and now… and the idiot wind cats, I guess."

Eaglestar began roughly rubbing his paw over Littlescent's scruff, scratching it with every pass. She could do nothing more than wince in pain, frantically searching as fast as she could.

 _Longstar, please. Do something! I know you of all people hated the idea of fighting LeafClan. If there's one chance – just one chance – at stopping all of this from happening, it's you. Don't make me have to do this. Don't let me die here…_

Eaglestar took his other paw and smashed it into Littlescent's back as hard as he could. Some of the leftover fluid caught in her throat covered her paw, making Longstar look away from his subordinate once more.

"Do you not see me?" the leader shouted. "Do you not see where my paw is? It's on this little one's neck. You don't leave she dies, just like I said. Do you not care for her life?"

 _All those times I said I'd die for the clan. All those times I wanted to prove myself when I was an apprentice. I… I don't want to. Not like this. Not here, or now. Not off the chance that I might save the clan by killing Horsepelt. Give me a chance! Panzer, Longstar, please._

The clouds picked up their pace. The sky grew even warmer as the smoke from the large, outlying fires shifted directions. It blew directly across the thunderpath now, towards or away from either group of cats.

The wildcats that surrounded the other three ends of the camp were taking small kittensteps towards the openings. The fake-claws stood, tall and menacing, as the groups drew even closer.

Panzer broke the silence. "We see you, Littleone. We're working on it. But that savage over there won't give you up. He'd rather kill and die than not kill and live!"

"Enough of this!" Eaglestar shouted. "She dies, or no? Leave and live or stay and kill her. Pick one now!"

 _I know how this is going to go. Longstar couldn't find a way out of this one… so I'm going to die. There's no other choice but to call him._

Littlescent continued to strain her eyes in all directions, frantically searching every crack and hole large enough for a cat to fit. With Horsepelt and Eaglestar standing out in the open, she thought she'd be lucky enough to hold any element of surprise on them.

Longstar shook out his pelt and turned his gaze straight towards his senior warrior. He shook his head, and her heart skipped.

"Littlescent, we can't leave. Or else we'll all starve, or worse… I'm sorry." He jumped to his paws, turning the full length of his body towards the bulk of the wildcat army. His fur stood on end, his tail erect, and his ears shifting around quickly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Horsepelt stepped forward. "Longstar, I urge you to leave without fight. Fighting only make things difficult for both of us."

Longstar hissed to the sky, to the surprise of everyone. "You just don't get it, do you? You're young and so is Eaglestar, so I'll tell you the reason why we're so stubborn. Wolfstar has been the only leader of your clan until now. And not one time did he ever act out _against_ LeafClan. Every action he chose, every step he took, was all in the name of taking your clan from a dying forest and into this Twoleg place long before you were born.

"He fought for StarClan, and they told him only one clan could exist, or all would be destroyed. He ruthlessly wiped out the clans in this place, one by one, as he said he was commanded to by the Stars. But in reality he knew exactly what needed to happen to secure a future for his clan. He did it to ensure they could grow and thrive. But that's no longer possible.

"The Twolegs wield the powers of flight, lightning, and fire to fight each other. They're beyond our control. Many on both sides had already been lost to it. And, even in his final moments searching our territory to kill stray kittypets, he acted to defend his clan at all cost. That's what his life meant to him. And that's exactly what my life means to me."

Longstar walked over towards the front entrance to the StoneClan camp and resumed his hostile stance. "I want nothing more than each and every cat in my clan to be given a chance at life, just as Bonbon before me wanted. Leaving this place would destroy and scatter us, and I would've failed as a leader. We will fight, and Littlescent will join the warriors of StarClan. It is now my purpose to drive you away in defense of my clan!"

The rest of the cats stood motionless, watching the older StoneClan leader pace back and forth in anticipation. The three groups of thin wildcats advancing on the camp from behind had all stopped, staring at it. Most were waiting for orders from Eaglestar, who was looking down at the paw he had on Littlescent's scruff.

Even Panzer looked on towards her leader without saying anything to refute his words. Littlescent knew she had agreed with him.

Whitestar stepped forward. "We don't have to fight here. We all just need to—"

"It's over, Whitestar," Longstar shouted to him. "By the end of this, we'll be at war. I honor your desire for peace, but this is happening. I suggest you take your clan and disappear. Get as far away from the Lower Territories as you can. Advise the rouges to do the same, or they will be killed."

Eaglestar began to rub his paw up and down Littlescent's neck. "StarClan said we all die if we fight. We live. We crush you and your clan, here and now… after you watch little warrior die."

 _StarClan, please_ , Littlescent pleaded. _Save me. Don't make me call Burn. This can be stopped, I'm sure of it. If you'd only give us a sign. StarClan, help us, help me!"_

The smoke from the nearby fires had risen into the moonless sky, causing a new layer of ash to begin raining over the cats. Longstar held firm in his defensive position, waiting for the first wildcat to charge him. The wildcats continued to hold position, surrounding the camp. Silence, all around.

Littlescent felt the sting of open flesh; Eaglestar had already raked at the back of her neck. Before she could react, he did it again.

She squirmed around, looking straight at Longstar, as she felt her blood begin to fall over her neck. He raked her again, tearing away flesh little by little.

"Wait, please! Don't do this. Don't kill me!" Littlescent pled as she continued to fidget against the wildcat's grip. He raked her again, this time setting himself on top of her to keep her still.

He continued his onslaught with small, deep strokes. Each time he tore at her neck she wailed out in pain, screaming for the aid of her leader.

 _I need the words… I can't find the words. The words to set this all right. Action. I must resort to action now… I'm sorry, StoneClan._

He raked her again; she felt a sudden stream of cool air, quickly replaced by the sensation of dripping liquid. The only smell she caught was of her own blood. She tried one last time to shake the wildcat leader off her, but he had her pinned. He was too heavy, and she was too weak.

She felt his paws again. Littlescent curled her neck, aiming her head straight towards the sky.

 _Not here. I'm not dying like this!_

"Now! Get them!"

Eaglestar and his group looked around to see what she was shouting at. As did the main attack group behind them.

Three smaller cats leaped from their hiding spot from the second level of a nearby structure. Before the warrior could turn to notice them, they fell upon her. The three cats ferociously tore at her pelt, silencing her screams with quick bites to the neck.

One of them, a brown patch-furred cat, leaped off his dead target and immediately at another. This one had turned his neck to watch her clanmate die. He failed to dodge. A snap echoed in Littlescent's ears as she heard Burn kill the other cat.

The two others with him leaped towards Pineheart. He kicked one of them off. The other bit him below the neck. The wildcat stomped on one of their paws, failing to pin the rouge.

"Back!" shouted Burn's raspy voice. Littlescent heard the wildcats hissing behind her. The sound of claws scratching stone signaled they had given chase to his group.

Eaglestar looked back at his group, now hissing and shouting across the path towards the StoneClan camp. He saw three fallen members of his clan, one of them covered in her own blood.

Littlescent closed her eyes as she felt Eaglestar's heavy paw lift from her.

"Let Bonbon's cowardice die here! Charge!"

 _No, Burn. You hit the wrong targets. What happened? Could LeafClan have remembered our ambush tactics? Is that why the leaders stayed away from the nests?_

The thundering of paws broke her thought as she watched the wildcat's charge. She quickly moved the collar back over her damaged neck and stayed down. She had lost sight of Whitestar, but Longstar stood firm from what she saw.

The clearing soon erupted into hisses, scratching, and screams. The three groups advancing on the other sides of the camp sprinted towards the openings. The cats inside stood. They pressed their bodies against the thundersticks. The fake-claws at the end barred the holes in the walls, bracing for attack.

Littlescent watched wildcat after wildcat completely ignore her and charge towards the camp.

 _There's not enough of us. I hope Sharptooth over-prepared for this… because I've failed once more._

The small warrior got to her paws, brushing against the pelts of wildcats running towards her camp. They seemed to hold their position along its center. Littlescent slowly limped around the cats towards an opening. She knew she needed to get to the clearing without being spotted. She thought she could aid her clan from there.

She found Eaglestar. His tail was curled in a ball, with no other cats charging. Longstar jumped from his crouch and darted through the open entrance with Panzer. It slammed shut behind him just as several wildcats crashed into it.

The enraged leader shot a glance back at the surrounding cats, just a fox-length away from the camp. "We're going through." he shouted. "Jump through openings, but watch sharp-things. Kill all inside!"

Littlescent took the chance to sneak across the thunderpath. The wildcats on it converged on the StoneClan camp. They held their position, keeping their gazes on those ahead of them.

The wildcats backed away from the openings and crouched, preparing to jump. Littlescent watched the fake-claws sway back and forth.

They jumped. Some made it on the opening's edge. Some were skewed on the fake-claws. The unfortunate wailed, their thrashing bodies sliding quickly down them. The second group jumped. More screams and more death. One of the StoneClan cats had pushed a thunderstick over the ledge. It dropped down hard through an unsuspecting wildcat. The sharp end skewered through her head, and without a sound she fell silent.

"Now, hole in their defense!" Eaglestar shouted.

He was first to leap from the gap, followed by three more full wildcats. Littlescent heard the hisses and wails of those inside, but could not tell whose. She continued to limp across the path, finally reaching the stone clearing.

A large wildcat sprinted past her. Pineheart, with two others, charged into the thin smoke plumes. The BreezeClan cats were cut off, looking to their leader. Littlescent saw the pet's tails curl between their legs at the sight of their opponents.

Whitestar looked straight at Pineheart, his eyes narrowed and his fur standing on end. "Six of us for three of them. Bait and strike, like I taught you. And bring them down… bite to kill."

Whitestar's cats acted without hesitation, charging into the thin smoke whips. Littlescent turned her attention back to the entrance. The wildcats had their grip on the front paw of a smaller cat. The StoneClan warrior gripped onto the ledge as hard as she could. But she was dragged down into the group of wildcats. They ignored her neck, because Littlescent continued to hear her wails as the group of cats slashed away at her. They threw sticky patches of fur behind their backs. She kept wailing.

Horsepelt sprinted across the path and right across Littlescent's view. The wildcats looked on and hopped through the opening themselves. At their paws, they left a mutilated bundle of fur. Littlescent looked away as she watched it slowly turn over, revealing the pool of her own blood running underneath.

Horsepelt stopped in the clearing, in full view of the wildcats behind the camp. He pushed his tail back and forth in their direction. The warriors quickly backed away from the holes and openings in the sides of the camp. Only Eaglestar's group facing the thunderpath continued its onslaught.

Littlescent watched two cats try and dig their way through a tattered entrance near the open hole others were jumping through.

 _The medicine den… Fleetheart! No, I have to defend her. She won't die because of me!_

She limped faster towards the fighting. A horrifying yowl sounded above the rest. It came from the large hole above the front entrance. Littlescent looked directly upward to see one of her clanmates fall out of it. He dropped to the clearing below. And she watched one of the wildcats break formation and run towards him. With a quick bite, his painful moans ceased.

She looked up again to find a short, brown she-cat with a fake-fur patch over her eyes being backed into a corner. Eaglestar was more than twice her size; he continued to reach out and swipe at the apprentice. She leaped back, almost falling from the hole herself. That and the wall blocked any chance of escape.

Eaglestar thrust forward his paw. It never reached her. It was dragged away, along with the rest of Eaglestar, deeper into the leader's den. Just as he was out of sight, Littlescent watched a wildcat, dazed and staggering, walk off the ledge. His body hit the ground in a bloody mess, his fur soaked in it.

She caught a glimpse of the cat fighting Eaglestar, a black-striped grey tom, Longstar. He swiped ferociously at the opposing leader, catching his jaw several times before he was tossed aside in one mighty jab.

 _Save her, Longstar!_

He jumped to his paws, only to be pinned as Eaglestar loomed over him. His rear claws raked through Eaglestar's thick belly fur. He continued to jab back at his face. The wildcat leapt off him. Longstar charged. He slammed all his weight and speed into him, sending him straight into a wall.

Longstar leapt through the air at the dazed leader, thrusting himself into him again to pin him against the wall. He shook against the opposing strength of the wildcat.

"Shortpaw… run," Longstar said. "Find Littlescent."

She stood still, looking out the hole and directly into Littlescent's eyes. Then back at her leader's.

"Go now!"

He slammed against Eaglestar again, forcing him against the wall. Shortpaw's fur stood on end and her tail shot straight into the air. In one, large stride she was on top of the wildcat tom, slashing her claws into his exposed flank.

Eaglestar had enough. He yowled and thrashed about. Longstar pushed against him and backed away towards the middle of the den. Shortpaw hung onto the wildcat's flanks, being tossed around by his swaying.

Longstar took the chance and jumped towards his neck. Eaglestar turned and thrust his hind legs into the StoneClan leader's face. He fell to the floor, shaking his head. He wobbled to his paws.

Eaglestar flung Shortpaw from his back; she landed on her paws at the center of the den, shaken. Longstar backed away from the wildcat.

"I said get out. Now!"

Shortpaw darted through the entrance to the den, out of Littlescent's view. As she left, two other, much thinner, wildcats entered the room. They ignored the fleeing she-cat and ran straight to their leader's side. Eaglestar, bleeding at his flank, slowly limped towards Longstar.

"Help cut this cat to pieces," he said. "Then push his body out den, for his whole clan to see!"

The two other wildcats leaped at his order. Longstar sidestepped, dodging one of them. The other landed in front of him and backed him against the large hole. Both jabbed at him, trying to push him out. He leaped into the air and landed on one of their backs. The wildcat tried tossing him off as he delivered a quick bite to her neck.

The other wildcat jumped towards Longstar again. He reared up, matching the force of his thin adversary. He smacked him across the face, sending him into his limp companion. Both tumbled out of the hole and onto the stone below.

 _I've never seen this side of him before… I need to help._

She slowly limped towards the camp again. She glanced over at the closed entrance and froze. Horsepelt was directly in front of her, glaring at her. He stood near the three that had already fallen from the leader's den.

Littlescent felt her muscles tense up, shaking wildly. Her ears flattened. She began to back away from the brown wildcat.

 _What… what's wrong with me? I've got to help Longstar and Fleetheart. Go through him, Littlescent!_

Her eyes went back to Longstar, who was now reared up and grappling with Eaglestar. The two cats struck each other around the den. Longstar dodged most, taking bites at Eaglestar's paws as he jabbed and slashed them around.

The larger cat broke the grapple, jumping away from the smaller tom. The rim of Longstar's mouth was deep red. He took the break to shake his fur. His eyes went wide and his ears flattened. He crouched to the floor, ready to pounce at the wildcat.

Eaglestar continued to limp away. His flank was oozing blood from where Shortpaw had grappled earlier. His ears and tail stood erect, waiting for his opponent to strike.

Before he could, two more thin wildcats entered the den. Both immediately began to back Longstar towards the hole.

"That's it for you, stone cat." Eaglestar padded slowly behind his subordinates as Longstar edged closer to the hole.

He reared up and jumped as high as he could. Eaglestar anticipated it and reared up to match his height. Longstar was tossed aside, his tail draped out the hole. Before he could get to his paws, one of the wildcats leaped on top of him. He raked at his back. Longstar thrashed, throwing the she-cat off him. The other leaped at him. He was met with the leader's rear paw to his nose. The wildcat fell over, screaming at his broken and bleeding nose.

Eaglestar and the she-cat jumped him simultaneously. Longstar was pushed halfway out the hole. The she-cat raked his paws and jabbed him further. Longstar lunged up with the front of his body, ramming straight into the wildcat's neck, biting down hard.

Eaglestar began to rake at him as well, but he swiped away every strike with a counter. The other tom got up and charged Longstar. He missed, brushing over him and out the hole. He managed to sink his claws and teeth into Longstar's neck, hanging on by his scruff.

Both cats began to slide out the hole. Longstar let out a screeching yowl. He lunged from the ledge again and bit down hard on Eaglestar's neck. He began thrashing and scratching against the StoneClan leader. The cat grappled on his back bit down hard on the leader's neck. Longstar didn't let Eaglestar leave his jaws.

All three cats tumbled out of the den. Littlescent watched the leaders land on the rough stone, just a fox-length away from Horsepelt. He looked at the scene, backing away as he watched Longstar gnaw Eaglestar's neck.

The cat on his back was dead. But the wildcat leader was still kicking and screeching in Longstar's jaws. His eyes were wide, his ears twitching, his hind legs scratching at the stone. Longstar kept gnawing until blood began pooling around the dying cat. Slowly, Ealgestar began to fall silent. His legs no longer twitched. But his wild orange eyes stayed open.

Longstar's muscles began to relax. He spat Eaglestar's neck from his mouth. Horsepelt stayed where he was. Several wildcats walking around the clearing had taken notice. Their ears shot up, fur on end, realizing Longstar survived the fall.

Horsepelt backed away as they slowly surrounded the three cats. Longstar turned towards the clearing, looking straight at Littlescent's shivering body. His head dropped to the ground; his view of her blocked by the two wildcats. Longstar closed his eyes, still alive and still breathing.

He purred softly as they charged him. He put up no fight. Littlescent watched on, eyes wide, as the wildcats took turns carving up her leader. They tore bits from him, clawed at him, spat and hissed at him. They did not stop. Fur tuffs floated from the fray. The wildcats spread the blood throughout the area. She looked away, once again, as they tore Longstar's muscles open.

One of the wildcats began clawing his face. He eventually tore his nose open and snapped his jaw until it was opened to his neck. His fluids skipped around in clumps and mixed with the ash below.

Littlescent's eyes began fluttering. Her head grew light and her legs weak. She looked over at the holes where cats were still fighting. Wildcats continued to jump at them; some were skewered on the fake-claws. Others were shoved out by the StoneClan cats. Unaware of their leader's death, they continued to fight. The wildcats began to falter, most no longer supporting their clanmates' efforts to break through.

Horsepelt saw this. He noticed the rear lines were no longer in order. They staggered and backed away from the StoneClan camp. Some groups were the opposite; their ears were back and their fur on end. Their large fangs exposed, they were ready to charge the camp.

He saw the wildcat losses mounted at the side holes. He continued to avoid the site of his clanmates tearing Longstar's body to pieces.

"LeafClan, on me!" he shouted.

He took another glance at the petrified Littlescent, and then began to sprint towards the thunderpath border. Some of the other wildcats took notice. They began to fall back towards him. The cats surrounding the other entrances and holes also began to head towards the thunderpath. They all hissed and spat towards the camp as they sprinted through the darkness, kicking up clouds of ash to cover their retreat.

Littlescent fell to the ground. Her eyes were wide. Her ears and fur on end. She did not take her vision off the camp for a heartbeat.

 _What… what have I done?_ _The camp. Our leader… What have I…_

Her head fell to the side of her. Her vision began to go dark. She felt her body go weak again. Her senses were failing her once more.

 _What have I done?_

The last she saw of the area around her were several shadowed figures climbing out the holes. The front entrance began to creek open. Through it came a single dark figure, its tail and ears low towards its body.


	27. Brave and Mighty

Her eyes opened to a dark, empty den. She recognized the peeling walls. For the first time in nights, Littlescent did not have a headache as she woke. She did not lean over to vomit, and felt as though she could stand without effort.

Across from her sat another with a dark pelt. It was coated in dust, and it had a hint of blue in it. The figure breathed lowly but steady.

Panzer's head rolled around to face Littlescent, who looked back at her through slightly blurred eyes. She had a large scratch that ran from her ear to her neck. It crossed one of her eyes and her nose. Two other claw marks were at its sides. It had bled on her.

"Panzer!" Littlescent scrambled to her paws, but did not stumble back down. She walked over to the injured medicine cat and inspected her. Up close, she found her body riddled with smaller scratches.

"Littlescent, your awake," she heard a familiar voice say.

Littlescent jumped at the sound, but turned around knowing who it was. A pair of bright, blue eyes stared into her own. Fleetheart ran up and nestled her friend's neck.

"I told you… it would work well," a raspy voice responded. Littlescent turned her attention back to Panzer.

"What… what happened? I saw you run inside. You were protected, weren't you?"

"Mouse-brained Littleone," Panzer said. "Didn't you see them come through the holes in the wall? They ran up to… that's not important right now. Now you can have that meeting. Stop making others wait on your shortcomings."

Before Littlescent could ask another question, Fleetheart rested her tail on her back. She looked over at her and saw a look in her eyes that she had never seen before in the usually cheery apprentice.

"She's right. Some of the remaining warriors want to have a meeting. We've just been waiting for you to wake up after giving you medicine. I'll get the others. Head up to… Longstar's den when you're ready."

Fleetheart padded out of the den and out of sight. Littlescent then noticed the things around her. Her neck felt lighter, but covered. She poked at it with her paw. The large pet collar had been removed, replaced by Twoleg fake-fur patches that wrapped around several times.

She perked her ears up, but heard nothing. The entire camp was quiet. Even the wind blowing through the camp was louder than the cats.

She examined the medicine den itself. It looked much like it had when she was first tasked with spying on LeafClan. It was empty except for Panzer and herself. The box of Twoleg stuff still lay on the ground. The Twoleg symbol was still scratched into it.

"Listen up, Littlething, because I'm only saying this once." Littlescent immediately turned back to the injured medicine cat.

"Panzer, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I was standing right there, and… I should've fought Horsepelt. I should've just gone through him and—"

"Shut up," she spat back. "That doesn't matter now; you would've just gotten killed, anyway. What does is that you stand there, not flapping your jaw like a pigeon wing, and listen to a wiser cat than you speak. Got it?"

Littlescent nodded her head in and leaned closer.

"All right then… I was injured doing what the other warriors couldn't. I tried to protect the queen and her kits. I swear I had them both whimpering like beaten war dogs until they wised up and attacked together. One put these lovely marks on my face and got my eye.

"What a devious thing to do. Claw at a cat when she's down. You know they killed her. Who knows what they did with the kits. That's why they should send you dirty warriors to deal with other dirty warriors. I can't keep up with those stupid battle tactics."

Littlescent dipped her head lower, away from Panzer's gaze. She let her words sink into her mind before the medicine cat snapped her from her thoughts with a quick hiss.

"Anyway, I'm done for. My insides were too old for that kind of thing. They're all messed up. And so are yours, Littlething. No cat just faints after doing nothing but standing around, battle or not. And I guarantee you it wasn't because of what Eagledirt did to you before you called those rouges. A quick trip here won't fix it, either."

 _She knows about the rouges,_ Littlescent thought to herself. _Of all the cats who could just see it that easily, it would be her. She's probably told the others by now._

Panzer coughed, wheezing up nothing before continuing.

"I'm going to give you some advice before I meet Bonbon again: don't stop believing in StarClan, and take a good look at Longstar. He still lies where he fell; the savages took their own leader's body back with them… I want you to take a good look at his mutilated body and say to yourself 'I will not become like them.'

"First step to them is not believing in StarClan. And if I'm still alive by the time you've mustered enough of your pathetic sense of courage to look at that dead cat, you tell me about it. Then tell the clan about it. Do _not_ let yourself become them. Bonbon would rather see this clan disbanded than turn into vicious leaf cats who ignore their ancestors."

Littlescent reimagined the scene in her mind. The struggling body of her former leader crunching down over and over on Eaglestar's neck as he screamed in pain. It still made her eyes narrow and her belly turn.

"You got all that. I know it. Now get up there to the leader's den. Don't make others wait for your comfort, you tiny excuse for crow scraps."

Panzer rolled her head back towards the entrance and away from the small warrior. She continued her steady breathing. Littlescent padded past her without looking back, knowing it would only anger her further.

She pushed open the heavy entrance to find a dulled and empty room. The sky still showed as grey clouds of ash and smoke through the numerous holes in the camp. She was almost unable to tell it was dusk outside.

Just four cats were on the camp grounds. As Littlescent walked through, she saw one of them grooming herself. Two were staring out different holes; their tails were curling and their fur shook. The forth was tearing pieces from a mouse and slowly eating them off the ground.

The grooming she-cat looked up at Littlescent as she started up the steps. She returned her gaze. For a moment she stopped her accent, studying the bright green eyes of the she-cat; she noticed they were much like her own. But hers did not reveal anything, nor did they stare at her, but past her. Littlescent cringed a little. The cat went back to grooming herself.

Littlescent continued up the steps, trying to make sense of the she-cat.

 _She hates me. I know it. Because of what happened over the past few nights. If that hadn't have happened, then maybe the others…_

She cut herself off before she started naming her fallen clanmates. She tried to stay as focused as possible. But, even as her injuries began healing, the covered scratches on the back of her neck throbbed in quick bursts of pain with each shoulder movement. She no longer stumbled upon her lightheadedness; she had grown used to it.

Littlescent could hear the other cats murmuring to themselves at the end of the hallway. She stopped and looked to her left, where the queen's den was. It was empty. Save for a few blood stains, fur tuffs, and used Twoleg patches, it was vacant.

Her ears flattened and her mood quickly turned on her.

 _This is where Panzer got hurt… that's her blood on the ground. Or the queen's. The kits are gone. And it's all my fault that it happened. One of the screams I heard while I was outside was hers. It was her being killed by the wildcats. And if I was there I…_

She tried to push the thought from her again.

 _If I was there… they might both still be alive. Now there will be no kits in this camp for a long time._

She continued slowly down the hall towards the leader's den. With each step, she could hear the thump and scratch of her paws. She looked down, noticing her claws had come out. Her heartbeat began to rise, and the blurred entrance seemed much further away.

 _Stop it, Littlescent, right now… right now, you need to ready your apology._

She took a deep breath and retracted her claws, waiting for her heartbeat to slow down before pushing open the entrance and walking inside.

Fleetheart, Heavyclaw, Shortpaw, and Wolfgang sat in a circle in the center. Christa was there as well, lying just outside the circle near Heavyclaw.

"Good, you're awake," said Wolfgang, looking towards his clanmate. "We didn't want to force you, since Fleetheart said you had it pretty bad. But I told her you'd be fine. You've got that StoneClan blood in you! Well not technically, since you were born outside of the clan. But you know what I mean."

Littlescent weakly nodded and crossed through the circle of cats, sitting between Shortpaw and Fleetheart. She was directly in front of the large hole in the den. The same hole that Longstar used to speak to the clan from above.

She saw the same, blackened skies that presided over the battle. She looked out of the same hole that Longstar had fallen from. The one he took three wildcats through to their deaths, along with his own. She knew there would be no going back after what he did to LeafClan by killing Eaglestar.

She looked around at the clearing below her. It was still covered in dried, red stains. They were sprayed all over the area. Some small wisps scattered around from ferocious claw-raking. Others were deep-red pools, from where several of the wildcats had bled out and met their end.

 _No more Horsepelt, no more meetings. Just apologies. And more blood._

"Littlescent?" She looked up from the floor to see the other five cats staring at her confusedly. Shortpaw had moved over and rested her small paws on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Littlescent said. "Please continue."

They briefly looked around the den before Heavyclaw sat up straighter. "We're it. The senior warriors are now the only surviving leadership for the clan. So we're going to have to formally decide on a few things.

"First, I want to propose a promotion of our apprentice, Shortpaw, to a warrior."

The others murmured to each other. Shortpaw looked towards her mentor, her eyes wide and pupils small.

 _She's just too young. She's barely old enough to mate, and they want her to fight like the others?_

"I don't think she's ready," Wolfgang responded. "She's only four and a half moons old and hasn't finished her training. There's still so much I need to teach her about fighting wildcats."

"I believe this is necessary." Littlescent looked over at Fleetheart, giving her a questioning stare. Fleetheart glanced over the room before continuing.

"Last night, after the battle, Poule died in front of Longstar's den. His mentor was with him. She was also killed. Leaving Shortpaw the only surviving apprentice in the clan. I have…"

She stopped, taking her eyes away from the others as she dipped her head. Her tail curled and shook around her legs as she hesitated to speak again. The other cats looked away from each other as well. Littlescent knew all had been informed about Panzer's condition.

"Panzer has been made an elder. I have been made the new medicine cat. With Shortpaw's promotion, there will be no more apprentices. Wolfgang, I know you must feel scared for her—"

"She's _four. Moons. Old._ " He straightened himself. "We usually wait until they're _twice_ her age to make them warriors! I still have to teach her how to hide from war dogs, and grapple other cats. And she's just a little smaller than Littlescent. Some of those wildcats are _three times_ her size."

"But I could grapple Eaglestar just fine!" She said loudly. The other cats stopped speaking. Shortpaw had their attention. "I jumped on his back and held on tight, biting him somewhere important. I couldn't tell where. I injured him. He was limping after that. But I did defy Longstar's orders to run away until he threw me off his back… I swear its true, I think I'm ready!"

Littlescent stared into the eyes of the tiny she-cat. Her pointy, brown fur was ruffled and messy. She had not removed the patch from her missing ear yet; Fleetheart seemed to put a fresh one on. But it did not seem to hinder her spirit. In her dark-orange eyes she saw herself. The same look she herself had when she was made a warrior. Eyes of fear and anticipation.

Heavyclaw nodded his head. "We don't doubt your word, Shortpaw. You were brave to do that. And we need all the able warriors we can get right now."

"No," snapped Wolfgang. "Even if she did that, she's still too young. One wrong move and Eaglestar could've crushed her against the wall! I don't want her out there just yet. Not until she's completely healed and done training—"

"I want to do this, Wolfgang." All eyes turned back to Shortpaw, now directly addressing her mentor. "Fleetheart said my missing ear could take moons to heal over. And we need more warriors, especially now. I… I don't want special treatment because I'm younger and smaller than everyone else. I want to help just as much as the others."

"But this isn't the way," said Wolfgang. "I haven't taught you everything yet… and with your size I'll have to give you special training—"

The apprentice shook her head. "Littlescent's the smallest warrior in the clan. Every wildcat's twice her size and she had no problems becoming a senior warrior. If she can do it, so can I."

As the others went back to whispering, Littlescent dipped her head again at the acknowledgement. She looked back towards the floor, right at the largest of the red marks. She could feel her pulse rising again.

 _If only that were true, Shortpaw. I've been a pretty sorry excuse for my rank so far…_

"Please, Wolfgang. Let me become a warrior so I can help the clan like everyone else, without getting in the way."

Wolfgang stared down at the numerous red marks. His mind was going over the fact that she had caused some of them in her first battle. He sighed, without taking his eyes off the ground.

"I don't want you to end up like the others… between the sky-monsters and that attack, we've lost well over half our clanmates. And those wildcats are heartless. I can't imagine what would happen if they got a hold—"

Shortpaw hopped next to him, resting her paw on his shoulder and staring straight at his averted face. "I have you to fight with. You said it yourself, remember? I'm going to surpass everyone at fighting… I don't know about that, actually. But we're great together. That means something, right?"

Wolfgang continued to stare at the stains until Shortpaw tapped his face with her paw. The others waited for an answer as the two cats stared into each other's eyes.

"It's your call, Wolfgang." Heavyclaw said. "There is no leader to force this decision away from you."

 _I've never seen Wolfgang so protective before_. Littlescent thought. _He's usually the first to drag Shortpaw into trouble. Now he won't let her out of his protection… I didn't think it was in him to actually bond with others. If Panzer were in this meeting, I bet she'd start laughing at him…_

Littlescent broke her thoughts at the small joke, her focus shifting back to the red stains on the ground. She ignored the others, unable to focus on anything else.

"I'm sorry," Wolfgang finally responded. "I was being selfish there. Is this really what you want?"

Shortpaw eagerly nodded her head in response.

"Then I, Wolfgang, senior warrior of StoneClan, call upon the warrior ancestors of my companions to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in turn.

"Shortpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Shortpaw said.

Wolfgang nodded. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warriror name. Shortpaw, from this moment on you will be known as… umm… Short… Shortfang. StarClan honors your loyalty and newfound, open spirit. We welcome you as a full warrior of StoneClan."

The newly dubbed warrior purred against her mentor's shoulders. He rested her muzzle on her head, and she licked his cheek in response.

"Congratulations, Shortfang," Fleetheart said, trying to put some energy in her voice. "At four and a half moons, you're the youngest cat to ever be called a warrior. We know you'll grow and serve the clan well by Wolfgang's side."

The others nodded their heads in agreement, though the mood was still tense. Littlescent looked up at Shortfang, who was now sitting very close to her former mentor. The white patch tied to her ear took her attention.

 _This… this just doesn't feel right. She's still injured. She's_ missing _an ear, underage, and now a warrior. I don't think I can take any more cats dying from what I_ _started. And not one who's still so young._

Heavyclaw tapped the ground to get everyone's attention back. "We should move on to the next topic. Our most important one. We need to decide a new leader."

Wolfgang and Fleetheart looked towards Heavyclaw. Littlescent watched the other cat's eyes move around the den uncomfortably. All took a glance towards the hole that she sat in front of. Littlescent lifted her head and also stared at the bulky, grey-brown tom.

"It should be you," she said. "You're now the best warrior we have when it comes to fighting. Also, you were born during the war. So that makes you the eldest of the senior warriors."

The den fell silent, save for the wind whistling in the background. The ash had begun to stir again. Small clumps of it fell onto Littlescent from the hole. She did not move, though. Christa sat her head up, waiting for a response from the group of cats.

"No," Heavyclaw responded.

Littlescent narrowed her eyes at him. "No? What do you mean 'no'? You're the best of us here right now. You're _obligated_ to lead us into battle."

"I wasn't even an apprentice before the war ended. So I never fought in it. I can't rightfully claim to be the 'best warrior' because of my age, or size."

"That's not the point," Littlescent snapped back. "You've spent the most time with Longstar, and even lived to see Bonbon as leader. You _have_ to know the most out of us about her. You're the only one of us here who's even seen her!"

"Just because I saw her in action doesn't mean I was completely moved by her." He took a deep breath. "You know, as an apprentice, I did oppose bringing a certain she-kit runt into the clan." Heavyclaw paused momentarily, letting Littlescent take his words in and calm down before continuing.

"I see now how wrong I was about you. However, I was the biggest supporter for fortifying the clan with Sharptooth. Defenses that kept us a clan yesterday. But we don't need a leader like me, not a fighter. We need another leader like Bonbon."

The den stayed silent. Littlescent looked around the room. Each of them was looking towards her direction. She shook the warm ash from her pelt and averted her eyes from them.

"It's true," Heavyclaw continued, "Longstar had grown weak as a leader while he grieved. He and Yellowstar felt the reason so many cats died that night was because of their desire to put StarClan before their own clans. I watched as Panzer began to take his role, ordering the cats to prepare for a fight while he sat on the roof all day, occasionally leaving to see Yellowstar.

"Last night he took five wildcats down with him, including Eaglestar. I don't know if his fight came from his desire to 'right his wrongs' or from his renewed faith in Bonbon's teachings, but he defended us to the end. And with his death, no one is closer to Bonbon's wishes than you, Littlescent."

Now every cat looked directly at her. She looked up to meet each and every one of their stares. Even Christa appeared surprised at Heavyclaw's words. Littlescent quickly turned around. Her heartbeat rose and her fur stood on end. Her tail shook as it mindlessly pushed around the ash at her paws. She could hear the cats standing, walking towards her; her eyes grew wide as she looked down at the former leader, covered by Twoleg fake-fur, right where he fell.

Fleetheart stopped a few pawsteps from her. "Both Longstar and Yellowstar are gone, Littlescent. We need a leader who has strong faith in StarClan and Bonbon. Things may be rough now, but we can't lose sight of—"

"I'm _not_ strong, okay," Littlescent snapped back. "I was captured doing the one thing I'm good for around here. I was afraid. Every heartbeat I was afraid. And I can't forgive myself—"

"Don't talk like that." Fleetheart shoved herself into Littlescent, pushing against her, and away from the ledge. "Don't go and blame yourself for something you couldn't control. Not like Yellowstar. You're stronger than that."

"Get out of my face!" Littlescent yelled as she pushed the medicine cat away from her. Before she could walk towards the corner of the den, Fleetheart jumped back at her, nearly tackling her. The others gave them space.

"The Littlescent I know is brave and mighty. She doesn't let something like that get to her. That's why I'm here. To help you recover from those injuries. To make your body just as strong as your mind again."

Littlescent continued to face the corner. She no longer tried to shake Fleetheart from her shoulders; she was heavier, anyway. She held her head high, but did not respond.

"All of us are shaken up by what's been happening," Fleetheart continued. "Even you. But I know you have the strongest desire of all of us to see that we don't lose our original purpose. To allow any cat to have a chance at life, no matter where they come from or who they're up against."

Fleetheart rested her paw on her friend's shoulder. The others began to move closer to her. Fleetheart leaned in, speaking right into her ear.

"When you were a kit, you told me something. That if you were ever the leader of StoneClan, you would be just like Bonbon. Longstar himself mentored you for that… I know _that_ Littlescent. The small, ambitious, proud she-kit that I used to tease. The one we all grew up with."

Littlescent shook her head. Her whole body began to shake. "That was before all this. That was when I _was_ like that."

"You're better than ever," Fleetheart responded. "You're still the closest to Bonbon. Heavyclaw knows it, Panzer knows it, I know it. You're the only one fit to take over. To keep our founder's beliefs alive, just as Longstar did. That's where your strength lies."

Littlescent stayed silent. Fleetheart began stroking her back to brush the ash from her pelt, and to calm her down. She could feel her heartbeat going back to normal.

"If you won't do it for me, or them, than do it for everyone who's not here. For the injured cats lying below us. For the rouges who will be hunted off if we fall. And for the wildcats who could starve and die needlessly because of all this. Think about them, Littlescent. The ones who, right now, are just like you when you were being attacked by your mother. The ones with no control."

Littlescent took a deep breath, shifting her weight and sliding the larger medicine cat off her shoulder. She stared at the floor below her. It was coated in ash and dust that had gathered for many nights. She put her paw into it and started shifting it around.

 _This doesn't have to be the end of me. It can also be the beginning. I want to set all the wrongs right, and I don't want to be a burden to my clan any more. Everything I've done in the past four nights has undone all that I've achieved as a warrior. I still don't deserve this title. But the others won't have it any other way. I'll do it for myself. I'll do it to prove to everyone, even StarClan, that I… I…_

Her thoughts trailed off as she searched for what to say. She continued to hang her head, and stopped moving the ash. She sat there, unmoving, as the others sat back and waited.

Fleetheart put her paw on Littlescent's back once more. "Longstar was unable to save you, Littlescent. He wanted to at first. But he didn't know how. And then he gave up… something I pleaded with him not to do. Because you were too—"

"Please, Fleetheart," Littlescent snapped. She slid her friend's paw from her back and took another breath before continuing. "I'll do it. Just stop talking about me."

Fleetheart pulled her friend out from the corner and closer to the group of cats. She leaped in front of her and nuzzled the bottom of her chin.

"Good. I was running out of things to say."

Littlescent lifted her head and turned, looking into the eyes of each cat as they nodded their heads in approval. She felt her heartbeat rise uneasily once again. The medicine cat hopped to the center of the group, in front of her.

"We can't go to the meeting place since it's in LeafClan territory. But I've memorized the entire ceremony." Fleetheart shook the dust from her fur and stood up straight. She lifted Littlescent's head to meet her own eyes. Everyone else closed theirs.

"I hail you by your new name, Littlestar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader and StarClan grants to you the guardianship of StoneClan. Defend it well, care for young and old, honor your ancestors and the traditions of our ways; live each life with pride and dignity." Fleetheart stepped aside, letting the others take a look at their new leader. Her heart continued to beat rapidly.

"I don't know about the 'nine lives' part," Fleetheart continued, "Panzer says it happens differently for every leader. Whether nine cats flashed before your eyes just now to speak to you or not, we aren't supposed to know. I'm proud of you, Little _star_."

The emphasis on her new name made Littlestar immediately cringe and look away from the group. She looked back down at the blood stains below her paws, knowing some of it was from her former leader.

Wolfgang stood and walked towards Littlestar. "I know you were just appointed and everything, but Longstar never called for a new deputy when Sharptooth died. Our clan has been without leadership for nights, so maybe we should do that before anything else."

Littlestar immediately looked up and snapped out of her thoughts. "Yes, I should do that… Heavyclaw, will you… I'm making you the deputy. We'll need a good fighter in charge now more than ever."

Fleetheart waved her paw in the air. "I know that one, too. It goes like… I say these words before the body of… to Sharptooth in StarClan, so that his spirit may hear and approve my… umm, Littlestar's choice. Heavyclaw will be the new deputy of StoneClan. Right?"

Littlestar nodded her head.

"I'll serve you until I fall, Littlestar," he responded.

"Prepare the other cats for war," she said. "There's no going back on what happened last night."

Christa stood from her spot, stretching and shaking the dust from her fur.

"I'll tell the rest of BreezeClan the news. And congratulations." She quickly padded out of the den and down the hall. Heavyclaw followed her out.

Wolfgang and Shortfang walked up to her, each of them dipping their heads in respect. Then Shortfang walked up and nuzzled her shoulder, being careful to not aggravate the wound where her ear used to be.

"You'll do great. I know it." Wolfgang signaled the newly appointed warrior to follow him out of the den, leaving Littlestar and Fleetheart alone.

"Well, this is your den now." Fleetheart leaned in close and began licking her ear. Littlescent shoved her away and quickly backed up.

"You haven't done that since we were kits," she responded. "And it was annoying."

"You know you liked it," Fleetheart responded. "Otherwise you wouldn't have taken so long to make me stop."

"You were _twice_ my size then… you're still weird sometimes, Fleetheart."

Fleetheart nodded her head. "There's the Littlescent I grew up with… I'll be back to bring you something to eat."

As she turned to walk out the open entrance, Littlestar called back. "Wait, what were you going to say about me before I said yes?"

Fleetheart tilted her head to the left, and kept it there. She waved her tail side to side as she waited for a response.

"When you said Longstar wanted to save me, but gave up on it. You said 'because I was too' what?"

Fleetheart shook her head. "It's not important. Don't worry about it."

But she felt her heartbeat was still fast. Her head grew light, and she swayed on her paws. She remained silent.

"Hey, be careful," Fleetheart said as he helped her lay flat on her belly. "You were about to faint again. So don't try anything until the next sunrise. I don't know if you got your nine lives without the proper ceremony. All the other leaders we've lived through died… horrible deaths. Deaths that would've taken away all their lives at once. I don't want to see you end up the same way, so be careful."

Fleetheart waited for her leader to sit and quickly padded out the entrance. Littlescent turned and crawled to the ledge of the large hole in the wall. She stared over, looking at the ash-coated Twoleg fur that covered her former leader's body.

"Just until it's closer to moonhigh," she said, "then I stop resting. I'm tired of resting… I'll look at you, Longstar. One last time before they carry your body away. Then I'll try to pick up where you left me off at."


	28. Chapter 27

Almost a day he had been sitting there. She almost threw the fake Twoleg fur back over the body. But she forced herself to examine every part of her former leader under the dark, night sky.

His whole body was surrounded in scrapes and dried spots of blood. His jaw, almost completely ripped from his head, was missing every tooth. His snout hung limp against the ground. Both his eyes had been stabbed in; one remained, full of puss and swollen outside of his head. All four of his legs were broken in different directions. His once black-striped grey fur was almost lost under a deep shade of red. Half his tail looked as if it'd been chewed off.

His body was unrecognizable. It was no longer Longstar. Littlestar dropped the Twoleg fur when she was finished, immediately hacking up her meal next to her slain leader. Every muscle in her body shook. She tried to forget the gruesome image. Nothing worked.

 _How… how could they do this_ , she thought, unable to contain herself. _It wasn't even that long. They didn't even have that long! How could any cat even think of doing this to another cat? Even if they are wildcats._

She held her thoughts again as she coughed up what was left in her stomach. Barely anything came up, but she couldn't move or speak. She just stood there, shaking, faced away from Longstar's covered body.

 _This is pure cruelty only worthy of… of no one. No cat could ever do something like this unless they came from the Place of No Stars itself._

Littlestar ran around the corner. She felt her heartrate soar, but her shaking stop. She felt a little more at ease away from the mangled body.

"I think you'll be fine not telling Panzer what you saw." She did not even notice Fleetheart was standing, waiting to move on the patrol. She had the Twoleg patches tightly strapped to her sides.

"I don't want to tell anyone about that," Littlestar said. "No one here deserves _that_ to be their final memory of Longstar."

"I agree," Fleetheart responded. "Panzer thought it'd be important for me and the senior warriors to see what happened to him. Specifically, how he died such a brutal death in the end for the clan."

Littlestar felt a paw rest on her back. She jumped around, her fur on end and her claws bore. She barely hissed at the small, white cat before recognizing Whitestar. He had Christa and Karl by his side.

"We are going to make this right," Whitestar assured. "And we are here to help you do so."

He, again, reached out his paw to comfort Littlestar. Her whole body shrieked away from it, her own paws moving to counterattack it. Deep breathes could not regain her composure. She continued trembling, keeping her distance from the group. The BreezeClan cats remained quiet, keeping their attention on her.

"I guess we should go now," Fleetheart finally said. "Let the group here bury him. Panzer said it was the last thing she wanted to see…" She trailed off before saying anything else. The group remained silent, but Littlestar was getting herself back after her friend's words.

"Let's go," she said.

The others nodded. The group quickly padded out of camp and into the darkness of the blowing ash. Littlestar took one look back at the white Twoleg fur that rested over his body.

 _There's so much of it,_ she thought. _There's so much blood. And I can't smell any of it… has my nose just stopped working? Maybe it's the smoke. Or is the scent of death and ash just too familiar now?_

The fires in the Lower Territories slowed the cat's advance, though they were well out of sight. Littlestar was careful not to get too hot while walking though the thin clouds of smoke. The other cats were careful to hold their breath when they scented thicker smoke, but she was too busy trying to stay calm to do so.

 _We just have to find the rouges,_ she thought, trying to keep her mind at ease while walking in the heat. _If his boasting was accurate, he should now have more cats than our clan… hopefully, he's still alive._

The group rounded a corner of one of the thunderpaths, arriving in an area that was still untouched by the attacks. The Twoleg nests were still abandoned and falling apart, however. In the center of the path was a massive hole. Littlestar noticed it did not come from the sky-monsters, but was dug by the Twolegs themselves. All the stuff that she normally saw under thunderpaths was taken out and away.

There were holes in the debris large enough for rats to crawl through. But she could not find anything moving.

"This is where Burn's camp last was," Littlestar started, "near our old camp. But that was before the big sky-monster attack. I don't know if they're still—"

"Move, yell, and we'll kill you!" Another cat leaped onto Littlestar. She began thrashing into the air as the larger cat forced his weight on her neck. She fell to the ground, crying out in pain from her wounds.

The large cat continued to grapple her. Christa jumped onto him, claws unsheathed, trying to get him off. Being raked in the back was enough for him. Littlestar scrambled to her paws and spun to face her attacker. The large tabby had patches of his fur missing from burns. He glared into her green eyes before arching his back and turning to the side, appearing twice Littlestar's size now.

Before she and Christa could leap onto him, Karl stepped in the way. "Wait! We don't have to fight like this. It's not what we need right now."

Both cats anxiously glanced between the tall, black tom and each other. Whitestar and Fleetheart looked around for more cats; Whitestar stood in front of the medicine cat.

"What do you want?" Another voice asked. A yellow-eyed brown cat emerged from the edge of the hole. Littlestar focused on his many pink bald spots, still curling her neck from pain.

"I've come seeking your help," she responded.

Burn spat a loud hiss in her direction, circling the group as his tail twitched side to side. Littlestar froze in place, knowing what his response would be. Several more rouges emerged from the large hole behind Burn and stood directly in front of the clan cats.

"Again? You ask for my help _again_? After what I already did for you? First I want what rightfully belongs to us. Unrestricted access to your territory. We want to hunt it."

Whitestar and Karl glanced eagerly between the rouges and the StoneClan leader, trying to make a connection.

"You two know each other?" Karl said. "But I thought the rouges were enemies with everyone."

Burn turned his gaze towards the BreezeClan warrior. "Surprise, kittypet, they aren't. Not anymore. Not since this little one made a promise to _me_ asking _me_ to kill _wildcats_ in exchange for food. So where is it? The territory access, we want it. And we'll have nothing more to do—"

"Listen to me, Burn. The wildcats are—"

" _Nothing more_ … to do with your business with LeafClan. You say they'll kill us after they flatten you. But they can't even find our camp. You only know because it was where your clan's camp once stood! To get to us, they'll have to go through you."

Littlestar shook her head. "They already know where your camp is. And you trust us to keep you safe from them?"

"Look," Burn said, "when we see you going down, we'll pick up and move again. We've been doing it since the sky-monsters came. That was three leaders ago. So we'll manage, without you or your clan."

Fleetheart stepped forward to her friend's side. "First, I want to hear about this deal you had with our leader." She leaned into her Littlestar's ear. "When did you do this, again? I don't remember it?"

"Your new _leader_ thought it'd be… wait a minute. Where's the long-tailed grey one? Isn't he your leader? Is he dead or something?"

Littlestar felt her unsheathed claws scrape at the stone below her paws. She tried to hold her tone back. "He died. Valiantly defending our clan. And took Eaglestar with him… something _you_ couldn't accomplish, obviously."

The rouges whispered loudly amongst themselves. "You mean he killed a wildcat? And their leader at that. Easy?" one of them asked.

"He killed five of them, actually," Whitestar answered. "LeafClan will be waiting to make a move while they reorganize their leadership, again."

"Hah!" Burn turned back towards his group, stopping just a pawstep away from Littlestar. "If what you say is true, then what do we have to fear from the wildcats? They'll be busy getting their leaders all in order. While they do that, we just move again. And this time far from your territory. I mean _really_ far away. Things were already hard enough around here with the sky-monsters. We don't need to get more involved in clan antics while we're at it…. you know how little Twoleg nests are left, and sky-monsters _still_ attack. There's a bunch of dead Twolegs in this rubble we're hiding in, want to see them?"

He dipped his head in respect. "Anyway, consider our agreement cancelled, Little _star_. We're leaving before those wildcats make up their minds. And, if we do it right this time, you won't see us again. Once the sun rises, if we have to."

Burn turned towards his cats and motioned them back towards the large hole. The fires glowed along the black skies, fueling the ash clouds that continually blew through the cat's pelts.

A loud crash took their attention. Before they could even look in its direction, a fire had already overtaken a whole den in one of the nearby Twoleg nests. Its bright glow penetrated the ash and lit the surface below.

"And I _defiantly_ won't miss that. Do you know how many cats we've lost to those 'flash-fires'? This place wasn't fit for dying Twolegs. Was foolish to think it was fine for living cats."

"So that's it?" Littlestar approached the rouge leader, causing the other rouges to move in closer to her. "You're just going to run again? You know that won't work against clan cats."

"What, you're going to intimidate us again?" he growled. "Going to try and force us to work with you, is that it? Well it's not going to work. We've bent over for those star-eyed breeze cats. We've been running from wildcats. We've been told by _your_ clan to stay away from others. Each time on the threat of death. I don't underestimate any clan's strength. Clan cats are stronger than us. You've wanted us to leave so badly, so we're leaving."

Littlestar continued to walk towards Burn. He flicked his tail across her face and continued walking away. "Goodbye, clan cats. Have fun with those savages."

Littlestar bore her fangs and claws, her fur spiking. She hissed and leapt through the air, landing right on Burn's back. The rouge leader rolled over and tried to kick her off. Once he did, Littlestar slammed her paw on his neck. He hacked up clots of ash into her unrelenting snarl.

The other rouges hissed and bore their fangs, closing in on the StoneClan leader. Burn struggled to motion them away.

"She won't kill me. Let her threaten me. Let her try." He looked directly into her green-eyed scowl. "Go on. Tell them you'll kill me. Do it if you have to. Give me a reason to stay here and risk the lives of those cats who left me in charge to protect them? I'm waiting."

Littlestar leaned close, bearing her fangs directly into the burned cat's face. Her neck began throbbing in pain, threatening to bleed once more.

 _Calm down, Littlescent… Longstar wouldn't resort to this. As if it'd even work on this rock-brained thorn of a cat._

She sighed, loosening his grip on Burn's neck but keeping him pinned under her claws. He sat still under her pin, waiting for her to speak.

"Listen to me," she started, "why did your original leader come to this area in the first place?"

Burn waited to respond, thinking of his answer. "The first of us was Elke. She wanted to help Bonbon out, tired of being hunted and pushed away by LeafClan. Food was also harder to find, with the Twoleg warriors coming into this place. So she convinced other kittypets to join her cause. But they aren't here now. They all died during or after the war."

"Was that the _only_ reason she helped?" Littlestar asked.

"You know that's not true," he responded. "Elke and Bonbon were friends. It's just that Elke didn't believe in StarClan. But that has nothing to do with what we're doing here and now."

"It does." Littlestar eased herself off Burn, waiting for him to pounce back. He did not; he stood, shook the ash from his pelt, and began to look around. Littlestar did the same.

"There's nothing left for us here," he said. "You can see that. Random fires in the Twoleg dens, entire nests creaking all day and night as they weaken. The fact that we're living in a giant hole, surrounded by Twoleg corpses and the shells of war-monsters.

"This is no place to live, Littlestar. Thinking towards the future, this is no place to raise kits or to grow peacefully. We were all born after Elke and Bonbon's war. We don't hate wildcats. They hate us. They want to kill us. So we defend ourselves best we can. If that means running as far as we can from them, so be it. We won't fight if we don't have to."

"But you do have to," Littlestar responded. "When you decided to move into our territory, you also decided to put up with the wildcats. Despite how dangerous they are, you still came here willingly."

"We were starving," Burn growled. "The Twolegs got defensive of the river again. They built stuff in it, chased us out. It was also the first place hit by the sky-monsters. I assume they're done with it, so we're going back. Without them keeping us out, there should be enough birds there to last until we decide where to go from there… all while avoiding _your_ war. What's so hard to—"

"Littlestar, behind you!" Karl twirled around to face two rouges as they emerged from one of the Twoleg nests. Burn waved his paw at them, and they approached him.

"And here comes the news now. You'll see." He continued to signal the cats. As they emerged into the light of a fire, Burn stopped waving. None of the other rouges approached them. The two cats, both toms, were covered in bald patches. Their pelts clung to the bones underneath. Each limped towards their leader, their eyes half closed and their breathing rapid.

Burn slowly approached the two exhausted toms. "What happened? Were you attacked by… where's Reiz?"

Before they could respond, a muted sound cried in the distance. Littlestar's ears perked at the cry of the sirens. She slowly turned back towards the group, suppressing her instinct to run. She took deep breaths. The memories of that night began to flood back into her head. Her breathing became faster. Red closed in around her eyes She imagined the intensity of the fire.

"Littlestar!"

She snapped out of her thoughts, bringing her breathing, and her spiked fur, back under control. Fleetheart walked in front of her. "Should we head back to camp?"

Littlestar stared up towards the sky. It was still blocked by the low-bearing ash clouds that flowed between the structures. But she could still make out the low hum of the sky-monster's noses as they flew across the sky.

 _They're much lower than usual. The ash clouds must be pretty thick if even they can't see through them._

"No," she finally responded. "We came here to do something. It does us no good if we run every time _they_ show up."

Burn looked back towards his exhausted cats. "So? Where's Reiz"

"Reiz is dead," the smaller tom said, collapsing where he stood. "Not wildcats… poison… poison killed her!"

Burn took a few steps back, his eyes wide. He fell back on his rear legs, staring blankly at the ground below. Littlestar stepped back towards her clanmates. The sirens continued to wail in the background, partly drowned out by the sound of the low flying sky-monsters.

The larger tom stepped forward. "We… we made it to the river. By the massive Twoleg storage nests, just like you said. They were gone. I mean completely gone… they fell _into_ the waterfront. Even the large, stone ones used to make the fish-monsters have collapsed.

Burn continued to stare at the ground. His eyes had gone back to normal, and his breathing was soft.

"Reiz is… dead?"

"Yes she… she took some of the water. We were so thirsty, and no nest had their water-things working. But we saw so much worse than that. The ground was warped, some of it melted; the thunderpath was on fire! Our paw pads were burned so badly, we got thirsty. That fire is different from the others… _far_ more fowl. The waterfront, though… the river—"

The tom began to hack up ash and blood as he dipped his head away from the others. His breathing became fast. "Can't breathe… there was something other than… smoke and ash in that air."

The smaller rouge sat his head up where he lay. "The top of the river was completely black and still. It was like nothing I've ever seen before… nothing _any_ cat's ever seen. You could _stand_ on some parts. When Reiz pushed the black mess on top away, she found the water underneath was completely brown. And it smelled terrible… like the Twoleg dirt had gotten into it. Worse, even."

The large rouge shook his fur out as the small one collapsed again. "She put her paw in it, but a drink… it was too much to resist. She spent the entire night coughing up blood. We watched her paw swell to the size of her tail! Her screams… I'll say no more. It's too much.

"There was nothing we could try. No herbs, no Twoleg healing-stuff, nothing to use… I'm sorry, Burn. The thunderpaths were _moving_. They were melted and moving and we had so little time… we left her. We had to take the opening in the fires to leave, or we would've—"

"No more," Burn shouted. He took a deep breath as he continued to stare at the ground below. "You did what you had to in order to survive. I'm glad to see you safe. Reiz would've wanted that."

Littlestar waved her tail in the air, approaching Burn once more. "We can treat these two to the best of our abilities if you'd like."

Burn did not respond. His tail curled around his body. His ears dropped to the sides of his head. "Reiz," he whispered, "I'm so, so sorry. I wanted to tell you earlier."

He lifted his head to the StoneClan leader. Littlestar looked into his eyes, seeing them red and puffy from exhaustion. His paws were shaking, and his ears were twitching in different directions.

"Burn?" Littlestar asked. He continued to stare at her blankly. "Fleetheart, do you have anything in those pouches?"

Fleetheart shifted around the Twoleg pouches on her sides. "There's not much in here. I can at least treat their burns. They'll have to come back to camp for whatever they've been breathing."

"It was sludge!" the larger rouge shouted. "The air, the river, the thunderpath, all covered in that black paste. It's not safe to breathe that air, let alone live—"

He resumed his coughing fit. Fleetheart walked over to him, waving Karl over to help with the treatment. Christa and Whitestar stepped closer to Littlestar, who was still trying to get Burn's attention.

He suddenly looked up, his ears facing the sky. He took in the hums of the sky-monsters, louder than ever, and the high-pitched sirens in the distance. All the noise around him returned.

"Then that's it, I suppose," he said, letting the falling ash cover his pink bald spots. "We have nowhere. No rumors to go on, no river to go to."

"We could send some cats past the Upper Territories," said one of the rouges. "And beyond the river. We don't even know how bad the sky-monster attacks were on that side. Maybe they're not as bad as over here."

Burn shook his head, continuing to look at the dark, night sky. "No. It would take too long before we hear from anyone who travels that far. And if even the ground itself around the river is poison, you could end up like Re… like her."

"We could run beyond here," another one spoke up. "If we move beyond BreezeClan's territory, we'll be out of this Twolegplace. We'd be in the fields where war-monsters attack sky-monsters. The fields are already burned out. And there are no clans."

Burn moved his gaze back towards the ground. "Only problem is," he said softly, "is that we don't know what's there. Or what's beyond that. All I know about that area is that there's another Twolegplace far past it. And another, and another… riding a snake-monster could take you right to those places."

The whole group of cats remained silent, aside from the groans and coughs coming from the two who had returned. The ash in the air grew thinner, revealing the thick, black smoke clouds that hung above them. They moved rapidly through the sky and continued to block the cat's view of the sky-monsters above.

In the distance, the sirens still sounded their rhythmic warning. Littlestar nearly leaped towards cover when she felt the rumble of the strike in the distance. More soon followed.

 _Their attack has started,_ she thought, getting her heartrate under control, again. _They sound like the large, four-nosed ones but they're so far away from this area. It sounds like it's happening beyond LeafClan's borders._

Burn finally looked up from the ground and at the StoneClan leader. Christa and Whitestar watched the two cats lock stares. Burn's was tired and shallow. His eyes were red, and he squinted from ash-laden wind. Littlestar left her eyes wide open, almost forcing them to be so.

"Littlestar," Burn said. "I'm going to stay here and help you."

The other rouges looked wide-eyed at their leader. "What? But you'll die—"

He held up his paw, silencing him. "I'm staying if you help those two. When they're healthy, I'll escort them to the snake-monster's rest point. From there, they can ride one to the next Twolegplace… the rest of them will leave that same way."

He waved his tail across the group that stood behind him. "Can't believe I let this turn around on me so easily. She was better at this kind of stuff than me."

One of the rouges stepped forward. "Burn, you aren't just going to leave us alone, right? You're our leader!"

"And as leader," he said, "I'm telling you to get on a snake-monster and get out of here. It's your best chance at survival. Howard would kill me if he were alive to see me lead you to your deaths. Be it wildcats, sky-monsters, melted thunderpaths, or black sludge."

He turned to address the cats standing behind him. "Go to the dens," he said loudly. "Tell all of them to gather in this spot outside of camp by the next sunset. They're to go to the snake-monster's resting place and wait for one. They'll be able to leave this place. Anyone who's willing to stay with me is to gather out here after the clan cats leave. They'll come with me, and our injured members, and stay as long as I stay. Is that clear?"

The rouges stayed silent for a short while. Several cats emerged from the rubble, hearing Burn's words.

"Yes, that's clear. We'll do as you say."

"Good," he responded. "Because that's the last order I'm giving… Rand, you're in charge now. You're the one who's traveled this place the most. You'll make sure no one is left behind. They either stay with me or leave with you. I resign leadership, as of now."

A large, black-striped cat stepped closer to Burn. "But what about—"

"Whatever call after mine is yours. You're now the leader. Not me."

Rand lowered his head and leaped back into the hole. The other wildcats did the same, save the two who were being treated by Fleetheart and Karl.

Littlestar finally shook her fur out.

 _For a band of rouges, they sure are loyal. I wonder if that comes from Howard and Elke's work with Bonbon during the war. Or from their hatred of the clans, ours specifically…_

Burn began to circle Littlestar and Whitestar where they stood. "You have my support as long as those two are in your camp, if you're willing to take them."

Littlestar nodded her head.

"I'll be there as long as they are. No cat is being left behind in this place. Not while I have anything to say about it."

Littlestar briefly looked towards the cats, who Fleetheart was helping to stand. "Whitestar, you know medicine too, right?"

"The leader's job is also that of a medicine cat," he responded. "Christa left some herbs at your camp, if they'll help."

Littlestar nodded her head. "Do what you have to do to help them. I'd like to talk to Burn for a while. Get them back to camp as fast as you can. I'll catch up."

Whitestar moved towards Fleetheart, propping himself between the injured cat she was holding. Karl managed to carry the smaller one by himself. They quickly rounded the corner and were out of sight, leaving Christa, Littlestar, and Burn alone.

Burn began to look over Christa, glancing slowly between her and Littlestar. "You know, you remind me of Reiz. On the smaller side. Grey with brown spots. You even look a lot like Littlestar. If you were kits, I'd think all three of you were littermates."

He looked back towards the sky, the monsters still attacking the far northern territories. Littlestar's heart rate rose again; she kept seeing flashes of fire. Darting her head around in all directions, she eventually stopped. Taking another deep breath, she turned back towards Burn.

"Why are you staying? You have another way out, and you said the wildcats weren't your problem?"

Burn stretched his legs out and shook the ash from his fur. His gaze returned back to Littlestar and no longer looked blank. "Reiz hated wildcats. She wanted us to fight, but she never put her personal issues with them ahead of the group's safety. I'm here to make sure the two cats that I almost sent to death are okay. Then I'll leave with them. Until then, I'll stay and help you with hunting or scouting. Like I told you before, _no_ rouge can go claw-to-claw with a wildcat without an advantage."

Littlestar held back her response, giving a simple nod instead. Burn's tail perked up at the whistle of a falling strike. It shattered the ground in the distance, the rumble felt deep under their paws. Littlestar, once again, took deep breaths and concentrated as much as she could on Burn.

"That one was closer," he said as he walked between the two clan cats. "We can discuss more once I get whose staying and go to your camp. Those lightning strikes make me uncomfortable."

He sat in the middle of the path where they had come in from, watching the sky. His ears perked up each time he heard a strike from the distant sky-monsters. Littlestar's focus returned to her surroundings, focusing back on the sky-monsters. Christa tapped her on the shoulder, breaking her trance once more.

"We should report back to camp. And make sure Whitestar and the others made it back."

"Yeah," Littlestar responded, "we got what we came here for. So I guess we should leave."

She turned around and started down the thunderpath. As she took her first few steps, she stopped and looked to the ground. A thick layer of ash lay at her paws, and she had not even noticed it. She also noticed her fur was still covered in it.

The siren's sound continued in the distance. The sky-monsters had taken a pause in their attack, but the low hum of their noses lingered in the sky. They were still there. Littlescent's mind began to wander back to fire. She thought about all the fire and smoke she had seen on the night of the large attack.

 _I can't rely on the Achse to defend me. They clearly aren't alive anymore if this is what they let happen to this place. I'm not even hearing the Achse thundersticks attacking back… Burn made the right choice, telling his cats to leave like that._

Christa quickly caught up to her, taking a last look at Burn before turning the corner they had come from. She looked around at the smoking remains of the Twoleg nests around her. The sirens echoed in the distance, and the hum of the sky-monsters was stronger than ever. The wind began to die down, leaving a thick coat of ash lingering in the air.

Littlestar looked up at the sky, the black haze still blocking her view of the stars and moon.

 _I'd leave with you, Burn. If everyone else agreed to it, I would leave for them. But we have territory to defend, rights to claim… cats to avenge. Innocent pets, rouges, and everyone else who died at the hands of the wildcats. At least, that's my mission. I know you're in charge, Horsepelt. And this war won't stop until you're slain._

Littlestar jumped at the sound of a loud crash in the distance. Both cat's eyes shot to the left. Another fire had spontaneously started in the Twoleg nest they were next to. It quickly spread to engulf a whole den, and then began the same with the next den.

The pair quickly walked away from it, being careful to keep their breathing down and not take in too much of the lingering ash.

 _We'll fight for this territory… no matter how little is left of it. It's still our territory._


	29. Chapter 28

The morning breeze was no better than the nights. It was bitter, dry, and riddled with ash. Littlestar thought she had woken up too late when she had left her den. The sky was still covered in a thick smoke from the attacks. She slept little; the sounds frightened her too much.

She stood outside of camp, near the entrance outside the medicine den. The ash was light, allowing Wolfgang and Shortpaw to dig the hole easier than they could earlier. Fleetheart stood with her muzzle pressed against Panzer's lifeless body. She knew it was coming and had promised Littlestar she was ready for it.

Still Littlestar kept her distance, only staying close enough to observe the burial. Wolfgang and Shortpaw stopped digging, moving towards their leader to allow Fleetheart to be alone. She was saying something the others could not hear from the distance.

Littlestar lowered her head and closed her eyes.

 _I'm sorry I didn't get to say a proper goodbye. None of us did, except Fleetheart. But I think you would've wanted it like that anyway. She sat vigil all through the rest of the night with you. We left her alone there, too. Fleetheart was the only one you said you wanted near you when it finally happened. I hope you made it to StarClan._

Shortfang's ear fell flat as she reached for her missing ear, still covered by a wrapping of fake-fur. Fleetheart gently nudged Panzer's body into the deep grave and began pushing small clumps of mud and rubble over it.

 _This may be the last time I speak to you. So, if you're up there, tell the rest of StarClan what I'm about to say, please. Today is when the fighting is supposed to start. We think LeafClan will attack us from the rear. An obvious move, but they wouldn't care. So I sent Heavyclaw with a group of warriors to secure an in-tact Twoleg nest. From there, we'll ambush them. I made sure he only took the burned cats with him so they'd have the least likely chance of being caught… I'll be joining him, after I've finished up here._

 _I wish I had you here to give me your kind of luck. It always seems to work on me. But, just like you and Longstar told me, they can't catch what they can't scent._

When Fleetheart was done burying Panzer, she walked back towards the medicine den's entrance. She head was low and her ears flat, her long tail dragging along the ground with each slow step. Wolfgang was resting his chin on Shortfang's head. Littlestar approached the entrance.

"Hey," she said. She waited until she was closer to say anything else. "Are you going to—"

"Be careful," she interrupted. "Please Littlestar, be careful. You're my closest friend… I don't think I can make it if I lose both of you on the same day."

Littlestar opened her mouth to say something, but decided not to. She nodded and left Fleetheart with the others alone. She rounded the corner of the camp and quickly padded across the front clearing.

The blood stain stood out among the ground littered in ash and dust. She stopped to stare at it, stretching her burned right leg before walking away.

 _You don't have to worry about me making your apprentice mad or anything. I'll either come back uninjured or dead so that I don't set foot in your medicine den… at least, I'll try not to._

"Make sure there are at least two of you on each of those rocks," Heavyclaw shouted as he looked over the side of the Twoleg nest. "It'll take at least two to push the rock far enough into the thunderpath to hit anything."

Heavyclaw walked over to the edge of the nest. The ground far below him was a thunderpath covered in the remains of nearby nests. From his view, he could see over the tops of all of them. The smoke was just a fox-length above him. He reached up to touch it, quickly retracting his paw at its searing heat.

He jumped over to the open steps that led down to the lower floors of the nest. "Pass this message on. From now on, no more yelling. The wildcats should be coming soon." One of the rouges looked up and nodded his head, moving down the steps to the level below his. Heavyclaw went back to his position.

He peered over the edge again, watching Littlestar approach from the direction of camp. Further down the thunderpath towards the Upper Territories, Heavyclaw could see the Twoleg prayer-nest he was told about. The wildcats had not come yet.

He jumped down from the ledge and ran to the steps, clearing several with each leap. Before moving down the next set, he looked back up towards the top level.

"When you see wildcats trying to jump into the holes at the bottom, drop the rocks. You'll be able to see everything from up here, but Shortfang will be up there soon to direct you. She knows these tactics."

Heavyclaw continued his descent, moving down the broken steps quickly. The other floors of the nest were vacant; the areas filled with thick layers of ash and destroyed objects left by the Twolegs. Heavyclaw looked over the structure as he descended. He noticed all the holes in the wall were not covered by the clear, smooth stone he had seen before the fighting, knowing the sky-monsters shattered it.

He reached the first level, where many cats were stationed along the holes in the walls. Only five thundersticks with the fake-claws attached to them were along their rims, the claws poking through. Littlestar and Whitestar were waiting near the front entrance, which was snapped closed behind them by another cat.

Whitestar began to walk past the deputy, who dipped his head in respect. "A cat from Blueclaw's group arrived while you were up there. She should be fighting the wildcats at this moment. However he tells me it is a rather small group. Likely a diversion for our scouts."

"Predictable," Heavyclaw said. "Just as Sharptooth said they would be."

"As BreezeClan's former leader," he continued, "I can act as a medicine cat if anyone needs attention. But I will not use that as an excuse to avoid fighting. Where do you want me?"

Littlestar shook the ash from her pelt as she took a position at the ledge of one of the holes. "Head up to the second floor. Your skills as a medicine cat are too valuable to lose in battle. So long as they don't get past this first, there shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Then I will look out one of the holes and spot for you."

Littlestar nodded, and Whitestar quickly jumped to the second level. She then leaped onto the ledge of the hole to see outside. Nothing was outside, save for the thick layer of ash and rubble on the thunderpath. Low smoke clouds still flowed through the skies, blocking out most of the sunlight.

"The smoke clouds are so low that I can reach them from the roof," Heavyclaw said as he walked to the ledge. "This must also be taking its toll on the wildcats. Bad air and no food should make them easier opponents to deal with."

Littlestar nodded her head, opening her mouth wide to scent the air. All she got was a mouthful of dust, which she quickly coughed out. She shook her fur out and continued looking down the thunderpath.

 _So this is it,_ she thought. _I'm fighting this time. No more sitting aside injured. No more holding back… it's time to atone for all who have died by my decisions._

Through the smoke scent, she caught movement. The cats immediately ducked out of sight, leaving Littlestar on the edge of the hole. Using the neighboring piles of rubble as cover, she peered out at the wildcats. Her fur stood on end and her heartbeat rising, she didn't make a sound as her claws extended themselves.

 _Way more of them than we planned for, but that shouldn't be a problem. They're all so thin. As long as they don't get in all at once and we fight two-on-one, we should win._

Littlestar dropped away from the ledge as the cats came into full view. She watched them through a large crack at her eye level. They marched low to the ground, almost stalking around the rubble that would make noise. They watched every angle for movement, but moved slowly.

 _They think they have the advantage. They must think we're all back at_ —

The wildcats stopped right in front of the nest. They tilted their noses to the thick, smoke-filled sky, some of them scenting the air. Littlestar saw a familiar orange and brown cat in the front, Pineheart. He immediately turned his head towards the top of the nest.

Several rocks, each the size of a small cat, were coming down.

"Ambush!" he shouted.

It was too late. Two of the rocks hit their mark. The wildcats underneath them were immediately crushed, their flattened bodies revealed as the rocks tumbled off them. The others looked at their lifeless clanmates.

"Move out of way. They're in Twoleg nest!" Pineheart continued to shout orders as more rocks came down on the large attack group. Two more cats were crushed under them. One of the wildcats was hit by a smaller rock. Half her head had caved inside the rest. The others looked away as she stumbled away from the group, unresponsive to their calls.

The rest of the wildcats recovered, leaping away from the structure. Only one more hit its mark, the rest fell harmlessly in front of the nest.

"Ready yourselves!" Heavyclaw shouted.

A wildcat jumped through the hole. The thunderstick caught and impaled him, taking it with him as he tumbled into the den near Littlestar. She jumped down and wrapped her jaws around his neck. But they refused to snap shut no matter how hard she pushed. Her vision became clouded and a sharp pain rose on her burned flank. The next hit knocked her to the ground, a thin wildcat towering over her.

Littlestar rolled over and kicked at her ribs before she could pounce again. The wildcat staggered back and screamed. A smaller cat leaped onto her back and chomped down on her neck before she could attack again. As the other cat leaped off, the wildcat dropped dead next to the first cat that jumped in.

She returned her attention to the tom on the ground. A pool of blood had already formed around his body; he was dead.

A loud bang on the entrance took her attention. Pineheart shot one of his paws through the charred wood entrance. Around him, cats were leaping to their deaths by the thundersticks and the cats lying in wait for them. Two wildcats were skewed on one, but the thunderstick did not fall. A group of them were fighting some of the rouges, Heavyclaw among them.

Above Littlestar heard the claw scratches of more cats, Shortpaw and the others coming down.

Pineheart smacked the entrance again, making a hole enough for a small cat. He quickly jumped back out of the way as a rock tumbled down on the spot, killing the wildcat that was helping him. The deputy roared and threw himself through the entrance. It came crashing down, several cats crowding around it.

The dust blinded Littlestar. She slashed at nothing, leaping over the two dead cats. A force sent her flying across the den, landing at the edge of the steps. Pineheart charged through, leaping within a pawstep of her. He slashed at her, but she ducked below his swipe, rolling underneath him.

She tried to rake his underbelly, but he curled his rear legs towards it. He thrust them out and kicked Littlestar back in the chest.

She hacked up ash and blood, and pushed herself behind the wildcat. Before he could turn, she spun around and raked hard between his rear legs.

Pineheart roared, falling to the ground. Littlestar leaped on top of him but was thrown off. She stood but was quickly struck down by a blow to the head. She collapsed, her front paws clutching her ear. Pineheart marched over, his legs pressed together.

"You'll pay!" he shouted. He bit down on Littlestar's burned flank, taking a bite out of her flesh. She screamed in pain as he quickly spat it out.

"Our messenger was right," Pineheart said. "Food not even fit for crows." He smacked Littlestar across the face, his claws just missing her eyes and nose. She weakly tried to stand, but Pineheart thrust her back down.

"You had no ceremony," he said, reaching to snap her neck. "To Place of No Stars with you!"

Littlestar flailed her body, rolling several times before Pineheart lost his grip. She jumped to her paws and bore her fangs, blood trickling from her missing one.

She almost collapsed when the back of her neck began to burn. Pineheart took her hesitation as a chance to recover from his sensitive injury.

 _Mouse dung. The back of my neck opened up again!_

Littlestar tilted her head back to try and block it. Pineheart immediately leaped at her exposed neck and thrust his front paws into it. Littlestar reared up to try and counter, but his size overpowered her. She tumbled to the ground, her belly and neck exposed.

With two large steps, Pineheart was already on top of her. He opened his mouth wide at the still cat before him and wrapped his jaws around her neck.

He was quickly pushed off and into the nearby wall of the steps. Two rouges had crashed themselves into Pineheart, both lying where he was.

All three cats scrambled to their paws. Pineheart went for Littlestar's neck, but the two shoved him against the wall again. Heavyclaw, able to match his size, reared up from Pineheart's side and moved for his neck. He roared and thrashed his body around, shoving all three cats off him.

"Let me kill her," he shouted, "to end war!"

He charged at Littlestar again, but the three smaller cats shoved him away. She finally snapped out of her shock and strenuously bent up to watch her clanmates wrestle with the wildcat deputy.

She glanced behind him; the battle was aggressive. Several wildcats lay dead at the edges of the holes and on the ledges of them.

She watched as a wildcat wrestled one of her clanmates to the ground and quickly snapped her neck. He was attacked by another cat from behind, who bit down hard on his scruff.

The hole in the entrance was being blocked by the bodies of several wildcats. Her clanmates had propped a longer thunderstick onto the back of a smaller cat and had been thrusting it in front of the hole.

Another wildcat shoved the thin bodies out of the way. She was quickly run through with the fake claw at the end. The cats struggled to push the object from his neck. The wildcat on the end thrashed around, blood pouring down the thunderstick.

Littlestar slowly got to her paws in time for a clanmate to approach her. But she was quickly shoved away by Pineheart. Heavyclaw slammed into him, forcing him onto his hind legs. It was too much. Pineheart came down hard with Heavyclaw on top.

But he rolled over and raked his underbelly once before crawling away. Heavyclaw stood strong. Pineheart clenched his rear legs together and backed away slowly.

"Take out Pineheart, now!"

Littlestar looked to the steps. Shortfang stood with three other cats. They leaped into the fray, jumping onto a wildcat that lay on her side. Shortfang left it to her clanmates and rushed for her leader.

Pineheart turned tail and leaped through the entrance. "LeafClan, retreat!" Three of the wildcats inside also leapt out of the den.

"AchseClan is victorious!" Heavyclaw shouted as he walked towards his leader. The other cats began cheering and screaming into the air. Littlestar was silent.

Heavyclaw hopped onto the ledge to watch the retreating wildcats. "I count six wildcats. They must've come here with triple that."

Shortfang began to help Littlestar to her paws. She just stared blankly at the entrance.

"Whitestar!" the warrior shouted. "We need you down here!" A white and black tom quickly hopped down the steps, his mouth full of spider webs. He ran over to Littlestar's side, rolling her over on her belly.

"Go get some more spider webs and sticks," he said to Shortfang. "I brought more than this with me. Find all of the injured cats, and tell me once you do." Shortfang nodded and rushed up the steps.

"Get away from me!" Littlestar shouted, trying to push him away. Whitestar forced his paw onto her back. She screamed, falling still as he quickly withdrew the pressure. Heavyclaw jumped down from the ledge.

"I want everyone else to look for casualties from both sides... and several of you get to Blueclaw's group, in case she's still fighting." At his words, numerous cats hopped between the thundersticks and out the holes.

Whitestar set the spider webs onto Littlestar's bleeding scruff. She flinched around, trying to keep her head still. Whitestar put more pressure on her with his paw. Littlestar hissed, resisting the urge to face him and do so. Shortfang returned, dropping the sticks and webs to help injured cats.

"We have to do something about that neck," Whitestar said. "If this wound keeps opening you will get sick, or bleed to death." He watched the first set of spider webs soak in her blood. Whitestar removed them and applied a fresh bundle.

"At least I know the bleeding is not bad." He began slowly applying pressure to her back. "Now where does it hurt? Here?" he shifted his paw further down her back each time. "Here? No… what about here?"

He pressed down on the center of her back. Littlestar screamed, turning to bite his paw. Littlestar immediately let go once she figured out what she did. Whitestar tried not to make a sound, and continued to deal with her open scruff wound.

"This one needs a cover," he said, holding his bleeding paw away from Littlestar. She bore her fangs the whole time she was being treated.

 _What happened,_ she thought. _How could I lose to some brute like him? Me, leader of AchseClan, lost! He was at a disadvantage the whole time._

Littlestar slammed her paw against the ground, making herself dizzy.

"Where is he!" she shouted. "Where did Pineheart go!?"

Heavyclaw looked back at her injured leader, scenting the air.

"He's long gone. And he'd be impossible to track with all the ash moving around."

 _Verdammt! Stupid coward! I was so close… what happened to me? Why couldn't I do anything. How was I so useless back there?_

Littlestar rested her head on the ground, trying to keep herself awake. She could see the white dots clouding her vision. Her eyes felt like they would lift out of her head and float off. She could not move any part of her body.

"Littlestar? Hey are you all right?" Whitestar began tapping her on the head. "Hey, stay with me, stay… oh… you're about to fall unconscious."

"How can you tell?" Heavyclaw asked.

 _I froze up. I couldn't even kill a wildcat when I had him in my jaws… I had his neck in my jaws… Why couldn't I kill him…_

Littlestar went limp, her vision drifting away from consciousness.


	30. Chapter 29

"I can't believe you let him go like that."

Fleetheart had Littlestar pinned to the ground. The entrances to the camp's medicine den were closed. The grey she-cat continued to struggle against her friend's pin to no avail.

Fleetheart had removed the dirty cobwebs that Whitestar had treated her wound with, replacing them with the fake-fur she had stored in the Twoleg box. She had finally managed to wrap it around Littlestar's neck, tucking the corners in to make sure it was secure.

"So, why did you let him go?" Fleetheart asked again.

"Get off me!" Littlestar spat back. "Now!"

"Not yet. I haven't finished treating—"

She pushed her rear paws off the ground, sliding Fleetheart over and off her shoulders. She scrambled to her paws, but Littlestar was already prepared to pounce. She growled and bore her teeth at the medicine cat.

"What's gotten into you?" Fleetheart approached her leader but was met with quick paw swipes. She backed off, losing her grip on the fake-fur bundle. "You're so angry right now."

"That doesn't matter," Littlestar responded. She began pacing back and forth, staring off into many different directions. She stopped to look out the small hole in the den. She saw the black sky continue to roll by with the wind, but could tell the sun was setting. Littlestar kept up her pacing.

 _What in the name of the Stars happened to me? I couldn't kill him. Me. The leader of AchseClan couldn't find it in her to kill a wildcat. He was trying to kill me and I had him. So why couldn't I finish him off._

Her claws unsheathed, but she continued pacing. She scraped the floor with every step and barely noticed.

 _Pineheart had me pinned like that. I got a great hit on him, right between his hind legs. But it wasn't enough. It was enough for Heavyclaw to work with, but I guess the leader of the clan needs a bit more help. She needs special attention. Well not_ —

"Hey."

Littlestar stopped pacing and noticed Fleetheart standing next to her.

"What is it with you lately? I'm trying to treat you and you just keep fighting me every time. Those injuries are _life-threatening_. You need to listen to me and let me help you."

"I need to keep that wound closed," she responded. "Give me something for that."

"I was just doing that until you got away from me! Now hold still and let me—"

"The collar," Littlestar said. "Give me a collar."

"What?" Fleetheart turned Littlestar's head to the side. Her wound had stopped bleeding, but her bandages were stained with blood. "Why would you want to wear that thing again? Do you know the work it takes to get them off pets? Plus they're uncomfortable, heavy, stiff—"

"I want it to cover my neck," Littlestar responded calmly.

"Yeah, but fake-fur wraps are covering your neck just fine—"

"Just do as I say for _once_ , Fleetheart! Put a collar on me and stop asking questions."

Fleetheart's ears flattened. She pushed the extra wraps aside and looked her friend in the eyes.

"If there's something you want to talk—"

Littlestar let out a loud hiss and swiped at the medicine cat. Fleetheart jumped back, nearly losing her balance. Littlestar continued to growl and hiss, her ears and fur standing on end. Her tail ran along the floor, twitching from side to side like her eyes.

As Fleetheart approached her, she began taking deep breaths. Eventually she sat back down and showed her neck to her friend.

"I'm sorry." Littlestar closed her eyes and thumped her head on the ground.

 _What_ is _wrong with me? First I lost to the deputy. Now I'm… well I don't even know what that was. Calm down, Littlescent. You're not on a battlefield anymore._

Fleetheart slowly approached her, the wraps in her mouth. Littlestar tried to take her mind off herself and focus on her friend. She sat, nuzzling her head before she set the wraps down. Littlestar flinched and moved her own away. Fleetheart began to remove the stained wraps from her neck.

Littlestar's heartbeat got faster; she felt hot. Her paws told her to run away. The air around her grew hotter and darker as Fleetheart hovered around her neck. Her paws began to jump away from her. She could feel flames licking at the end of her tail, and then at her paws. She curled herself in as much as she could. But the heat still reached her.

Finally, Littlestar burst away from Fleetheart, rolling over on her side and getting to her paws. She was panting and shaking, slowly moving away from the medicine cat. Fleetheart watched as Littlestar began breathing deep and slowly to gain a hold of herself. Then she fell flat on her stomach, facing away from her.

"I don't know what's wrong," Littlestar said. "I just felt fire… I think I-I just need to be alone."

"No," Fleetheart responded. "Not until I treat you. Leader or not, I'm not leaving you until I treat your neck… but if something is wrong, you can tell me, you know. I won't tell any of the others if—"

"I also lost to Pineheart in a fight," the leader said. "He almost killed me, if not for Heavyclaw and some of the rouges. There. That's why I'm mad. Because, even as a leader, I still manage to mess up in some way."

Fleetheart moved the old wraps aside, waiting to apply the fresh ones. Littlestar scowled; her deep scratches stung against the dirty air. Fleetheart began scraping away the loose fur and fibers from the old wraps as carefully as she could. Littlestar winced each time she was touched.

"You shouldn't be mad at yourself for that," Fleetheart said. "You're literally half his size. Remember, Littlescent-types don't fight well—"

"I _can't_ afford to do that anymore!" Littlestar hissed. "I have to be more than your Littlescent-type. I need to be a fighter, a fierce warrior… a ruthless one. Just like Bonbon. And that's exactly what I intend on doing. Bonbon or Longstar didn't give up and surrender. So why did I?"

Fleetheart began to lick the dried blood off Littlestar's scruff. "I don't think you surrendered—"

"I _did_ surrender!" Littlestar began scratching her claws against the ground. "I lay there just because he broke a bone in my chest. Just because he got me with his claws a few times. But not anymore. Imagine what would've happened if he remembered these scratches on the back of my neck? I would've been dead much sooner! That's why I want something to help with it. Like the collar."

The entrance opened. Four cats walk in. Christa was limping in, with Karl and Flaum helping her into the den. She was keeping the weight off her right paw. With each step, she struggled to keep her balance, even with the others helping. She left a trail of clear, red prints behind her. Shortfang was behind the three, barely visible over the taller cats.

"She landed on something sharp while teaching the rest of the pets how to jump through rubble." Shortfang moved to the front of the group as they lay Christa on the floor.

Fleetheart dropped the wraps and immediately moved to the wood box in the corner of the room. She opened the top and reached for the top to look inside. Fleetheart walked back over with a clear container in her mouth. The sides were covered in Twoleg words, the top sealed by a light-brown object.

She pulled the top off with her teeth and dipped some on the top of her paw. "Was the sharp thing a stone or something else?"

Christa shook her head. "It was that smooth Twoleg material the fake-claws are made of. I didn't see it when I landed on all the rubble." She turned her paw over, allowing Fleetheart to rub the liquid over her pad. Christa gasped as the medicine cat rubbed the bleeding wound.

The small, grey pet looked closely at Fleetheart's work. "I'm not a medicine cat," he started, "but aren't you supposed to clean the wound before you treat it?"

"Not this time," Fleetheart responded. "I was told, a long time ago, to watch out for cats that get cuts from that Twoleg material. It can poison a cat. Christa, did your owners ever take you to the _tierarzt_?"

"The what?" she responded. The group looked at Fleetheart. All but Littlestar, who was staring at the symbol on the medicine box.

"The _tierarzt_ is the medicine Twoleg for animals. Any cat born in captivity has gone there to get examined. And to have special needles stuck inside them."

"Pets call that Twoleg a cutter," Flaum grumbled. "It's not a good place."

Christa nodded her head, as did the others. "Yeah. We've all been there. Horrible place where they poke you all over and stick those medicines in you… I'm sure there's a better way to do it than those needles."

"I'm afraid not," Fleetheart said. She grabbed the fake-fur and began wrapping it around her paw.

"Aww," she whined. "How long to I have to wear it for?"

Fleetheart stopped wrapping to answer. "You'll wear the second set until they fall off. Until then, avoid stepping in puddles of any kind. Come back here later tonight so I can change those out, since you're still bleeding."

"So why not just clean it?" Flaum asked again.

"There's this disease," Fleetheart said. The others leaned in closer to Christa, inspecting her paw. "It gets cats after they step on that Twoleg material. It only takes one good prick and you've got it. After a few nights, cats start to have spasms. You roll and bend around whether you want to or not. It breaks your bones and tears your insides until it hurts to move. Then, it locks up your jaw, tighter and tighter. Finally, it seizes up your muscles and keeps you from moving and breathing, and you die lying still as a rock in some weird position."

The other cats slowly backed away from Christa's injury. Flaum turned his curled face away from his companion. He began hacking and spitting something up. Shortfang's tail swayed back and forth, and her ears were perked.

"You enjoyed that didn't you, Shortfang?" Fleetheart asked.

"Amazing," Karl said. "I never even knew that something like that existed. I guess the cutter was something good then. Did you learn all that from Panzer?"

Fleetheart nearly dropped the fake-fur from her paws. Her ears flattened and her tail dropped to the ground as she continued to wrap. "Yeah… I learned it all from her."

Flaum turned back towards the group, wiping his mouth with his paw.

"I guess that's why you didn't lick the wound clean. Clan cats would be less protected from that sort of stuff."

"Looks like someone is _weich_ ," Shortfang mocked.

Flaum began stamping the floor. "I am not _weich_ , whatever that means. I was… coughing up a hairball. All this ash and dust in the air."

"How can I train a cat who's scared of blood to be a warrior?" Shortfang leaped over Christa and began swiping at Flaum. He weakly swung his paws back to try and block her.

"I'm not scared of blood," he responded. "I just don't like seeing it, is all. That's why I run messages and leave the fighting to kits like you!"

"I'm not a kit!" Shortfang yelled. "I'm just small for my age. Never grew too big, just like Littlestar."

Littlestar turned back towards the group at the sound of her name. She began to pay attention to the conversation again.

 _It's nice to see someone in high spirits,_ she thought as she began licking her sore paw. _Especially with how shy she was before this mess started._

"Nice try, little 'four moons'," Flaum teased. "That's right, I know. I've lived the extent of your live many times over, you know."

"More reason for you to be embarrassed," she responded. "A smaller and younger cat than you is out there fighting the wildcats, while the older and stronger cat gets to run messages. Hah!"

"Would you both cut it out?" Karl yelled. The two cats dropped from their combative stances. "Come on, Flaum. You're older than this."

"Can't I enjoy my new clan life in these hard times?" he responded. "I'm just starting to get used to it. I feel so many moons younger here… older than this. I'm older than _you_ , Karl."

Littlestar turned her body away from the medicine box and back towards the group of cats.

"I have a message for you to send."

"Of course," he responded. "Is it for Blueclaw?"

Littlestar nodded. "Tell her to leave just a small group of cats in the Twoleg nest she's held up in. Make sure her and Wolfgang come back here with those leaving. Take Shortfang and Karl with you for protection."

Flaum rolled his eyes. "Great. I get the kit as a guard." He turned back towards the young warrior. "You know a wildcat could literally pick you up like a kit. And eat you."

Shortfang began padding towards the entrance with Karl and Flaum behind her. "I could always leave you to the first wildcat we see. Then we'll see who's the kit."

Flaum growled all the way out the entrance at Shortfang, who just swung her tail side to side in front of him. "I can see over you by just standing here…" he whispered as he left.

Karl poked his head back into the medicine den.

"Sorry about them. She brings out some 'inner kit' in him." He mostly closed the entrance as he left. Littlestar was now turned towards Christa, looking over her uninjured body. She noticed that her new bandages were already turning a deep red from her injury.

Christa examined Littlestar over as well, noticing the large patches of missing fur all over her. Her pink flesh was coated in layers of dirt and ash. Her ears fell flat when she heard the leader's rapid breathing. A bit of blood began trickling down her mouth, but Littlestar quickly wiped it away. She averted her gaze from Christa, wiping more blood from her mouth.

"I'm looking at that right now." Fleetheart demanded. Littlestar sighed and opened her mouth. Christa tried to look inside, but she had turned her head away from her view so that only Fleetheart could see it.

"Oh," she said. "I thought it'd be worse. That hole where you lost your fang is bleeding terribly." Littlestar closed her mouth and spat the blood onto the ground. Where she sat, there were already bright red spots around her.

"You'll only reopen it each time doing that. Here, chew on this." She tore away a small piece of the fake-fur wraps from her roll and held them up to Littlestar's mouth.

"It's already open," she responded as she spat more of her blood from her mouth.

"Just chew on it," Fleetheart mumbled, holding it closer to Littlestar. "Make sure it covers that hole."

Littlestar sighed, taking the wrap piece from the medicine cat and shifting it over the open wound; part of it stuck out of her mouth. She then turned back towards Christa, who had shifted around to sit near Fleetheart.

"Can I go now?" she asked. "I was in the middle of training some of the pets on defensive tricks."

"Someone else took over, I'm sure," Fleetheart said. "I'd like you to stay here for a bit… since you wandered in and all, now's a good time to tell you and Littlestar something important."

Littlestar stared over at Christa, who was looking out one of the holes in the wall. The ash had stopped moving, and the black clouds in the sky were still and silent. The smell of ash still lingered in the air. It mixed with the bitter medicine that Fleetheart had applied to Christa's paw earlier.

Fleetheart pushed the fake-fur roll aside and stood, circling the two cats as they watched her move.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now."

"Noticed what?" Christa asked. "I can't find anything around us besides the medicine and you two."

"No, no, not that. I mean look at _each_ _other_. Do you notice any similarities? In anything?"

Fleetheart continued to circle the two. Littlestar and Christa looked at each other again. The clan leader looked closely at the other cat's fur. Hers was unkempt and frizzy but short, just like her own. Only she had no bald spots. It was grey with hints of brown dotting it.

Littlestar turned back towards Fleetheart. "Are we the same type of cat?" she said. "We have the same fur pattern—"

"No, never mind," Fleetheart said, coming to a stop in front of both cats. She shook ash and dust out of her fur and looked below her before sitting on the warm ground.

"You both are littermates," she said. "We noticed it when Christa first came by after the massive sky-monster attack. We wanted to be absolutely sure before we told you."

"What?" Littlestar stood from her position and began walking around Christa. She looked over her entire body, and even compared the length of her tail to her own. She quickly walked back around and faced her, moving close to look over her face. Christa looked back at her with wide eyes and perked ears.

"Did Panzer tell you this?" Littlestar asked.

Fleetheart nodded her head.

"So when did you figure this out?" Christa asked.

"And is it true?" Littlestar said. "I thought all my kin were dead."

Fleetheart shook her head. "She didn't say they were dead. Just that she couldn't find them after she took you from your mother… on that night, Christa was one of the few that made it to clan territory on her own. I treated her burns here, and she even slept next to you for a night. While examining you both, my mentor concluded you were unmistakably littermates."

Littlestar stared at Christa's fur patches. She noticed the same brown spots that her own fur had. "How could you and Panzer have possibly figured something like this out?"

"All we needed was your fur, and your blood," Fleetheart responded. "Before you were found unconscious on that Tiger, Christa arrived. She was up that whole night treating cats. After you came in, she closely examined both you and Christa at the same time. It took a while, but she found out. I trust her judgement."

Littlestar leaned close to Christa and tried to scent her fur. She was unable to catch one. Cursing to herself, she turned back to Fleetheart.

"But she has a scent. And I don't. What about that?"

"Your scentless body isn't normal," Fleetheart responded. "She thought it was something that ran in your bloodline but, for some reason, only affected you. You were the only one of your mother's litter without a scent. She said in your bloodline, there should be someone born with your condition every generation or so."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Littlestar asked. "You have to be completely sure about this."

Fleetheart nodded her head. "She was sure, and I'm sure she was right." Fleetheart walked over to Christa, looking over her wraps. She extended her claws and slowly began sliding them off her paw.

"You said your mother just left you alone eventually, and that's when the Twolegs found you, right?"

"Yeah," Christa responded. "I was sad at first, but then I met Karl. He told me that it was normal for mothers to do this to their kits. And, ever since the Twoleg warriors moved in, I've been with the other pets and my Twolegs."

"Littlestar, I'm sure of it," Fleetheart started. "Christa is your littermate. I would only tell you something like this if it were absolutely true."

Littlestar looked through the hole near the top of the medicine den. The low light coming through the thick smoke cloud began to wane. It was almost completely dark inside the den, even though it was still dusk. She turned back towards the floor, taking another look at Christa. Fleetheart had finished changing her blood-soaked wraps to fresh ones.

"Can you… give us a minute?" she said to Christa. "I need to talk to Fleetheart alone. But wait outside. I still want to speak more on this."

Christa leaped up from her spot, being mindful of her wrapped paw. She nuzzled Littlestar's cheek, moving closer each time she tried to back away from her newly declared littermate.

"This is so exiting! I've never really know my littermates before."

She quickly padded towards the entrance. Her ears were perked and her tail twitched about as she pushed the entrance open and slithered through. She quickly poked her head back in.

"Thank you, Fleetheart. This news makes me feel a lot better about this whole situation."

As soon as she pulled the entrance as close to shut as she could, Littlestar leaned over towards Fleetheart's ear.

"Why did you do that?" she barked.

Fleetheart jumped back at her leader's sharp whisper.

"If you don't believe me—"

"No," she responded. "I believe you. But why didn't you tell me first?"

"Are you afraid she'll tell the whole clan?" Fleeheart asked. "I could tell her to keep it a secret."

"No!" Littlestar shouted. She looked down at her paws and quickly retracted her extended claws before they could further scratch the floor. She took a deep breath and laid her fur flat against her. "No, I mean why did… I'm just going to ask why."

"It's because I'm afraid for you." Fleetheart walked back towards the medicine box with the Twoleg symbol on it. Littlestar followed until they were standing right next to it.

"Littlestar, you aren't yourself lately. Ever since you came back from LeafClan's camp you've been different. Very jumpy, irritable; before then, you've never once yelled at me. You hated battle, and you wanted peace with everyone. Now you're different. I can't even touch you without watching out for a counter swipe, or give you a simple inspection without fighting you… I'm afraid for your mind more than your body now, Littlestar."

Fleetheart reached her paw out towards Littlestar's face. She moved her face back to avoid it, but Fleetheart kept moving. Once she stood to approach her, Littlestar swiped the medicine cat's paw away from her face.

"See? Just like that. You won't let me near you. I told you about your littermate because I was hoping to give you something to fight for. And not with fangs and claws. But the way you used to fight for cats, like when we were apprentices. With words and open ears."

"Fleetheart, you know that won't—"

"Yeah I know that won't happen anymore but, but…" Fleetheart paced around the room, unable to get her words out. She sat away from Littlestar, turned away from her. She hung her head and ears low. "With Christa, I wanted you to look at yourself. I wanted you to find in her what you couldn't find with me. Something you could only get from kin."

Littlestar stood from her place and slowly walked towards Fleetheart. "There's nothing that takes priority over this clan. I'm not angry at you. Or frightened, or saddened. I just… I don't know what I'm fighting for sometimes. I'm afraid. Things just aren't the same. And they'll never go back. But that doesn't excuse the way I've been acting… I'm sorry. I truly am."

Fleetheart's ears perked back up, her tail wagging in different directions. She turned back towards her leader and began to purr softly.

"And I'm sorry for pushing you so much. I know there are some things you just won't talk to me about. I think it's because I know you too well. Just promise me you'll say them aloud to someone. Shortfang, Whitestar, your littermate, just speak to someone… oh, and come in for treatment. Please do that, too."

Littlestar nodded her head. Fleetheart approached her and unraveled a coil of nearby fake-fur. She slowly approached her leader with it, gently setting it on the back of her neck. Littlestar fought against her impulses and did not flinch. She even managed to hold her claws back. Fleetheart began to wrap the rest of the roll around her neck.

 _Fleetheart, I'm so sorry. Nothing excuses my behavior. Growling and hissing at you. I don't want to do that, please understand. It's just so frustrating to feel so… no. I'll leave my problems for myself. I feel sick that I can't tell someone so important to me this stuff. But I promised her to at least tell someone. I owe that to her. She just wants what's best for me._

"The collar," Littlestar whispered. "Please, get it for me. I want the clan to know that a neck wound won't keep me from fighting with them. If you wrap it in fake-fur, it will stay in place and shield the wound. Please just do this for me."

Fleetheart stopped wrapping the fake-fur, tucking the end to keep it around her neck. Her ears flattened once more. "It's not that I don't want you to be safer in battle. It's that I don't want you fighting with your body the way it is."

"I can't sit back and watch my clan fight for me, because of me," Littlestar responded. "Please. I don't want to force you to do this."

Fleetheart sighed, sliding the roll of fake fur aside. She stared into Littlestar's dull, green eyes. Littlestar stared back into hers. For several heartbeats, they just looked.

Her eyes then went to the ground next to her. Several fresh splotches of blood dotted the floor. One of them came from the spot where she had changed out Littlestar's wraps when she first came in.

She suddenly shook her head, throwing out all the loose ash and dust. She briefly rested her paw on Littlestar's. She did not flinch. Fleetheart nodded her head and reared up, setting her paws on the top of the Twoleg medicine box.

"Okay," she said, "you have a few options. My mentor's collar is still here. So are Wolfgang's, Christa's. Bonbon's is a relic, a clan memento, but I can't stop you from choosing it. I think the others got thrown out. So, which one will it be?"

Littlestar looked towards the floor.

 _Don't worry Fleetheart. When this is all over, I can give you a proper apology. Something that will make up for everything you've seen from me lately. Something only the old Littlescent could give you, no, something I'll give you. When this is all over. For now, I must follow in Bonbon's shadow. May her footsteps in StarClan guide me from here on out. I will not fail._

She looked up from the ground and at the crossed Twoleg symbol that was the box's front.

"Give me the one that will make the least amount of noise. And preferably a light one."


	31. Chapter 30

_I should be alone_ , Littlestar through to herself as she moved along the hot, stone-covered thunderpath. _There would be fewer cats in danger. Besides, most of the prey we find are weak pigeons or dead mice. As long as we avoid the borders, we shouldn't need hunting patrols anymore._

Littlestar shrugged, adjusting the slim collar around her neck. She looked down at the object hanging from the end; the Achse symbol, made of the shiny-stone. But the Twoleg material had long lost its glow.

 _Bonbon's collar... at least it covers my neck and won't come loose in a fight. And the thing on the end doesn't jingle. I just wish it wasn't covered in blood. I hope Fleetheart's right about it losing its scent after so long. Not like I can smell anything anymore… how pathetic of me._

A grey and black tom strode by Littlestar's side, quickly darting around to each corner and large stone he found. Wolfgang's nose was constantly tilted in the air, and he scented it every so often. At her other side a small, brown cat did the same. Shortfang made the most of her one ear to listen for any movement.

"You won't find anything how it is now," Shortfang whispered to Wolfgang. "Let's just focus on protecting Littlestar."

"Shortfang, did you forget what I told you in training?" he said. "I'm just searching for other things on the side. When moving in threes like this, our goal _is_ to protect the third cat."

Littlestar shot an angry look at the tom. "Wolfgang, I don't need your protection. I need your nose to hunt prey while I protect both of you. That's my job."

Wolfgang scented the air again, turning away to hack up the ash he inhaled. "Your job is to lead us while we protect you. StarClan would get angry if I let a whole day of silence from the wildcats bring my guard down."

Littlestar shook her head. "All you're going to get scenting the air is a mouth full of ash."

"Still better than nothing," he responded. "Besides, I might be able to find another group of dead mice like this."

Littlestar glared at the tom, who continued his search. The three cats went left when the path ended. It took them onto a larger path that was less crowded with debris. Most of the Twoleg structures along the path were larger, and still burning. The rest had completely collapsed, the remains scattered along the edges of the thunderpath.

 _The Twolegs must have cleared this area._ Littlestar carefully stepped over the sharp objects at her paws. _That means they're still using it. And it had to be the Twoleg warriors. So, if they're still here, why aren't they fighting back? The sky-monsters are going to destroy this place if they keep doing nothing._

The group continued down the center of the thunderpath, moving slowly to avoid the sharp objects. Shortfang slowed her pace until she was behind her leader. Wolfgang sped ahead of her. He leaped up on a large stone to get a better view of the area.

 _They think I'm going to get ambushed. We're well within our Upper Territories. They would never try to do what they did last time… if they do, I hope it's Pineheart. My claws down his throat, and he won't feel so tough anymore. I'll spill every ounce of his blood and hang his head on the thundersticks. That'll give those savages something_ —

"Littlestar," Wolfgang called out. "I've found some mice. A whole bunch of them!"

Shortfang and Littlestar began climbing the remains of one of the Twoleg nests to reach Wolfgang's position.

"I bet you didn't find that with your nose!" Shortfang teased.

"You know. All this ash and stuff. No one would ever be able to smell anything in this mess. That didn't stop me from finding them, through."

"Just admit Littlestar was right already," Shortfang said. He waved his paw in front of her face, twitching his whiskers and moving his ears. Shortfang tried to bite it, but he pulled it away.

"What was all that supposed to be?" she asked.

"It means 'you're wrong' in pigeon," he responded.

"That's not how pigeons speak," Shortfang responded.

Littlestar shook her head. She stared down at several mice huddled together in a pocket of the debris.

 _I wish the entire clan's spirits were as high as those two's. It could be from winning the last battle. If so, their celebration is early._

Some of them were still moving. Most were still, covered in ash and rolled over on their backs. As Shortfang and Wolfgang continued to argue, Littlestar extended her claws and began jabbing at the live mice. Her claws quickly became covered in blood as she jabbed even faster.

"Leader," Shortfang said. "Are you—"

" _Don't_ call me 'leader'!" Littlestar snapped, waving her bloody claw at her. Shortfang flinched back, nearly getting hit. "Now stop your pointless arguing and pick these things up."

Shortfang looked at Littlestar, her green eyes wide and sharp. She reached down into the pocket and carefully picked up one of the dead ones. Wolfgang shook another one clean of all the dust. They continued to gather the mice in silence.

 _Nosey Shortfang should mind her own business, like any good cat her age. Calling me 'leader', I hate that word. Real leaders don't lose when their clan needs them. Leaders don't drag out wars they shouldn't have had to fight… watch me kill Pineheart. Then you can call me 'leader'. Until then, just call me Littlescent._

Wolfgang dropped his mouse and looked towards a hole in the second level of the structure they were next to. He narrowed his eyes and curled his nose.

"Wait… there's something—"

A dust cloud shot from the hole. Littlestar and Wolfgang staggered back, dropping the mice. Shortpaw flew from the rubble stack. A large, black form took her place. It swiped at Littlestar, who leaped to a lower part of the pile. Wolfgang jumped onto the figure, but it threw him off.

Littlestar looked towards Wolfgang. He was wrestling with a large wildcat. It smacked him across the face and sent him off the rubble. He caught himself next to Littlestar.

Two more wildcats leaped towards them. Littlestar dodged and Wolfgang reared up. Before he got hit, he moved to the side, watching the wildcat tumble down the pile.

A third wildcat jumped from the dust cloud. Wolfgang looked towards Shortfang. She lay still at the base of the rubble. The wildcat landed behind her. Wolfgang had leaped from the pile and next to him. With all his might he tackled the much larger foe, sending her to the ground.

Littlestar turned in time to catch one of the cats. Before he could bite her leg, she kicked him in the face. He was sent rolling to the ground. Littlestar leaped to where he landed. She swiped at the wildcat's showing ribs. He screeched in pain, running into a hole in the nearby Twoleg nest.

The wildcat attacking Wolfgang kicked at his underbelly, throwing him into the air. She immediately retreated into the rubble. The other two joined her, and all disappeared quickly.

Littlestar rushed towards Wolfgang, who already had Shortfang on his back.

"We need to leave," she said. "The other groups—"

A loud shriek broke her thoughts. Littlestar began sprinting towards the end of the thunderpath. Wolfgang followed, slowing so he could balance Shortfang.

 _The hunter-killers,_ Littlestar through. _They're using those kill patrol tactics from the first war. I should've expected it after what happened in the last battle. I should've gone alone!_

Littlestar sprinted around the corner and towards her other clanmates. Two other hunting patrols were fighting six wildcats. She watched one of them bite down on a smaller cat's neck. He dropped her lifeless body and leaped into an intact structure.

The other three cats were cornered against a wall. The wildcats did not hesitate; they leaped at them all at once. One of the cats tried to rear up and match his opponent, but she was too big. She thrust him into the wall, slamming his head against a sharp piece of wood. The cat hung there, eyes wide and dripping blood from his mouth.

Two wildcats jumped the largest of Littlestar's clanmates. Littlestar tried to run faster, but her body was quitting on her.

 _Come_ on _, Littlescent! There are no fires here. Just run. Run faster! Save your clanmates!_

One of the wildcats landed on her back. Her starved body struggled against her opponent's weight. But the other quickly bit down on the small cat's neck. She lay lifeless on the ground.

Another wildcat leaped onto a smaller cat. She immediately fell, screaming and thrashing at him. He bit down once on her lower back, and her legs stopped moving.

"Help!" she shrieked. "Somebody—"

The wildcat stamped his paws onto her back. The snap echoed down the thunderpath. It made Littlestar stop in her tracks. She watched the wildcat sink his fangs into her clanmate's neck. The other wildcat, who was watching, spotted Littlestar and Wolfgang.

He made a yipping sound; all six wildcats sprinted down the thunderpath in the opposite direction. Littlestar's fur stood on end, her claws scratched at the stone-covered ground as she bounded after them. They were vanishing from sight, but she did not stop.

Two other patrols appeared from another Twoleg structure, her own. They ran right in Littlestar's path. A familiar black tom widened his stance against her. She attempted to leap over him, but Karl caught her, sending both cats tumbling to the ground.

"Get out of my way!" Littlestar demanded. She struggled to her paws, but Karl wrapped his paws around her leg.

"They want you to chase," he said. "There are others, don't worry about those ones."

Littlestar kicked at Karl, hitting him rapidity in the face. Two other cats wrapped themselves around their leader. She thrashed against them.

"Get off!" she shouted. "You're letting them get away!"

"Littlestar, stop!" Karl shouted. "There are others that need us."

 _Why couldn't I do that when they needed me?_ She stopped thrashing around, raking her claws against the ground. _Why couldn't I do that when they needed me?_

She looked behind her. Three dead cats were along the wall. She focused on the smaller she-cat who called for help. Littlestar stared right into her wide, blue eyes. Blood from a neck bite formed a pool around her mouth, which was wide open. Several rats had crawled out of the abandoned Twoleg structures and rushed towards the dead cats.

"Get them out of here," One of them shouted. Two of them rushed towards the rats. Karl eased Littlestar's leg out of his grip. The third cat in his patrol went to assist Wolfgang.

Littlestar slammed her paw against the ground. She bore her fangs and stared straight at Karl.

"Get everyone back to camp. Now!"

She bounded down the thunderpath his group had come from.

"Littlestar wait," he shouted. "We don't know where they're hiding!"

She continued to sprint down the thunderpath until she got to an intersection. She looked forward, then left. To her right, two more dead cats lay. She ran towards them in time to see the wildcats disappear into the rubble.

Littlestar stopped over the two dead cats. One of them had her back twisted around a stone that stuck out of the ground. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was gaping.

"Speak to me. That's and order!" she yelled.

The second cat lay at the first's head. She was soaked in blood and covered in deep claw marks. It had already pooled underneath her, wetting Littlestar's paws. The small cat's eyes were also wide open.

Littlestar ran past them and continued down the thunderpath. She approached a group of structures she had passed while patrolling. They were still ablaze; most of them had collapsed in the path. They formed a large pile of charred debris that almost blocked her way through.

She spotted another patrol pair lying dead on the rubble.

Littlestar stopped in the middle of the path. Her paws began trembling. Her ears and fur flattened against her body. She breathed heavily, trying to loosen the collar around her neck. She scratched at it. Under its seal of fake-fur, it did not budge.

Littlestar fell to her belly, her legs splayed out at her sides. She rolled over and screamed, thrashing around. Her eyes never once left the dead cats.

The fire began to jump as pieces of the rubble began falling. One of them tumbled onto the dead pair. Littlestar lay paralyzed. The cats' bodies caught quickly. They began tumbling from the pile and hit the ground. She cringed at the thud they made.

 _It's happening. It's happening all over again. All over, and I'm powerless. Again there's something I have to do but what can I do. All I can do is watch again. Again and again. Until it's too late!_

Littlestar saw her vision grow dark. A red inferno quickly surrounded her. The burning cats seemed to be drawing closer. The scent of charred flesh slammed into her nose. She thrashed and tied to force herself up. Her body did not respond.

Littlestar tugged at her collar, forcing it against the back of her neck. She screamed, her collar digging into her scruff wounds. She kept pulling as hard as she could. The black and red inferno kept creeping in on her. The dead cats drew closer.

 _Can't… can't breathe. Need to… breathe. Need to get this off and… and I can help them. It's not too late… not too late._

She watched the darkness extinguish the flames creeping in on her. Littlestar struggled to move the collar. She stopped breathing, her paw wrapped around her neck. She scratched against it, her claws striking her chin over and over.

 _I failed again. Just like then. Just like last time…._

Her vision faded on the two burning cats. She caught a look at a shiny part on one of them. The cat's eyes were still wide open. They stared straight back at her before they were blocked off by two more cats. They had come around another corner and spotted her.

As they approached, Littlestar closed her eyes and relaxed. Her body forced her unconscious.

 _No more. No more of this._


	32. Chapter 31

_The sounds just don't go away… they'll never go away._

Littlestar sat alone on the roof of the clan camp. The ash had stopped falling, but the smoke clouds continued to roll high across the night sky. They still blocked the moon. The breeze was warm; Littlestar let her long tail sway against her body as it blew from behind her.

 _It should be a full moon soon,_ she thought. _It's been four, five nights since I left LeafClan's camp? Six? Who cares anymore. All that matters is, that night, I set off a chain of events I'll never be able to reverse. And that whole time, the Stars just_ —

"Littlestar." A familiar voice echoed through the wind. She did not turn to acknowledge her littermate. Christa quickly darted towards the opposite edge of the steps and sat on the ledge with her leader.

"What are you doing out here in the dark?" she asked, trying to lock eyes with her. "Everyone's down inside, watching for—"

"They're waiting for the patrols to come back," Littlestar interrupted. "The patrols that I sent out to their deaths…"

Christa reached out her paw towards Littlestar's. She flinched and dragged it close to her. Christa tried once more; Littlestar turned fully away from her, staring in the direction of LeafClan territory.

"You know what's over there?" Littlestar asked. She brought the Achse symbol hanging from her collar towards her chest.

The grey and brown-spotted cat tilted her head. "LeafClan territory."

"No fires are over there." Littlestar held the trinket tighter to her. "There's no fires, but no food over there. Over here, we have fires. But we have food. We have lots of scavenging things running and flying around here… and I wanted to link our two territories together. There was no way I could lose. And I was still naïve."

Christa shook her head. "Don't say things like that. Living in peace is never a naïve thought."

"But what scares me is that it wasn't too long ago. I thought like that just a quarter-moon ago. So little time has passed. And so much has happened. And I was still foolish throughout all of it."

Christa reached out her paw and rested it on her littermate's shoulder. Littlestar did not flinch, or move.

"I wanted to unite the clans. So that there would be no more fighting for prey, for pride. I never understood why we were separate, until now. Longstar and Yellowstar really tried to take steps towards it, and they made me want to help. Now look where it got them."

"Yellowstar would never want you to think like this," Christa responded. "I didn't know her for long, but she felt the same way the few times she went back to camp. But I know she would never want you to abandon your desires to save lives and unite our clans."

Littlestar tucked her head into her chest along with her trinket, tightly shutting her eyes.

"I heard she spoke highly of you," Christa continued. "Whitestar told me how she saw Longstar in you."

"And now Longstar is dead," Littlestar responded.

"He died defending your clan, and even took a wildcat leader with him. He's defiantly one of the bravest cats up there in Silverpelt, so I guess that's something to be glad about."

Littlestar's ears flattened, and she stopped her tail from blowing with the breeze. "So you really are as stupid as I thought."

Christa stayed in her spot on the ledge. Her paws began to tremble, and her tail flowed freely in the breeze. She kept her eyes on Littlestar's face, which was still burrowed into her chest. Christa waited for her littermate's acknowledgement.

"I really meant that," she followed up. "Any cat who thinks going to Silverpelt by mistake is the same kind of _verz_ _ö_ _gern_ Panzer used to yell at us."

The grey she-cat took her eyes off Littlestar, instead focusing on the ground far below them. "You don't mean that," Christa said. "You're just—"

"Just what, just _what_?!" Littlestar shouted, turning towards her. "Just grieving for the cats I lost today? Mad because they died under my orders? Angry at myself because I've failed again? Or mad at you for saying something about it all?"

Christa stepped down from the ledge and began walking towards the entrance to the steps. Littlestar leaped in front of her, growling with extended claws.

"I'm mad at myself three times over! But you even more for bringing it up when I just wanted to be alone! You come up here to try and cheer me up, thinking I'm some sort of whining kit who demands pity and attention. Worry about yourself first. You can't even _train_ another cat without injuring yourself! Useless!"

Littlestar swiped at the wraps on Christa's paw. She flinched as they were torn from her, the claws barely missing her wound.

"Just get out of here. Just go! Go be a _dummkoph_ somewhere else. But not on the battlefield and certainly not in my presence!"

Christa leaped around her leader and ran towards the steps. Littlestar turned towards her and let out a vulgar hiss.

"I was just trying to help," she said. "You were so open with me last night, and now you act like I'm a wildcat! I'm your littermate—"

"You are a worthless pet, even among pets. While Longstar sleeps and hunts among legendary cats from far and wide, I am here to fill his place. And who do I get to help me? You! Lots of you... do me a favor and show yourself less around me. Got it?"

"You know what? I'm glad you said what you really think about me," she shouted back. "The Littlescent I met at the Twoleg prayer-nest would've never turned into you… whatever you are now! All that rage and frustration in you; that must be the real you. I'm glad Fleetheart told me. So that I can tell you I'm ashamed to call you a littermate!"

Littlestar's breathing was heavy as she let out another chocking hiss. She curled her tail between her legs at the sight of her littermate disappearing through the entrance. Littlestar fell to her belly, curling her face in the ash-ridden surface under her. She screamed as loud as she could, her paws muffling her sounds.

A brown cat covered in bald patches walked through the entrance; he only emerged partly before spotting her.

"Littlestar," Burn shouted. "I've found the two patrols."

She did not respond, her head still buried in her paws.

"The first was two pairs of rouges," he continued. "They all deserted. I followed their trail back to where we joined you. I know they're all headed to the snake-monster stop to leave this place."

She still did not respond. She only shifted her head around her paws. Her tail began thrashing around in different directions, kicking up the ash with it.

Burn shook out his fur. "Only one cat returned from the other pair. He's badly injured. Fleetheart says he might not make it through the night—"

"Get off," Littlestar whispered.

Burn moved up a little. "What was that?"

"Get off this roof _now_!" Littlestar roared. Burn immediately leaped down the steps and out of sight.

Littlestar resisted the urge to shout. She leaped to her paws, stamping and kicking at the ash below her. She raked the ground over and over again; each swipe was harder than the last.

"What do you want from me, StarClan!" she shouted, facing the rolling black clouds. "What do you want? Why do you refuse us? You forsake us to them! To the Twolegs and to LeafClan! Do you favor them over us? Have we not followed your stupid rules? Your code? Are you rewarding LeafClan for killing the other clans? For killing us?! Answer me!"

Her ears perked up at a faint hiss in the distance. It quickly grew louder and higher.

"Where is my answer!"

The monster screeched across the sky, its two noses piercing Littlestar's ears. She let out a scream as loud as she could; the monster nulled it to nothing. She screamed louder and louder. But she was unable to hear herself.

As it passed, Littlestar stopped screaming. She fell to the ground with quick breaths, eyes clenched shut. She coughed up blood with each breath.

 _So that's it_ , she thought as the hiss disappeared in the opposite direction. _A screaming monster is your answer… no. Not your answer. Their answer. The Achse's answer to their enemy. New monsters, more warriors, bigger thundersticks. Well, I send more warriors and look what you do to them._

Littlestar began to smear the blood with her paw. A cold sensation ran over her despite the warm breeze. She shivered down to her tail.

 _I'm going to take down LeafClan if I have to do it myself. Without any other cat being put in danger. And without having to wait on you for some sort of miracle. I'll show that I don't need you, or anyone, to do this._

She slashed at the blood with her claws, covering her leg in drops of it. She looked back at the night sky. The flowing, black ash clouds made it nearly pitch-black. The distant fires were the only sources of light. Littlestar curled her nose at the reek of it.

 _This is no longer Hamburg… this is the Place of No Stars. It has come for us, all of us. It will kill us all eventually. This place will never recover. I'll make sure those three who deserve it walk all of eternity in this place!_

Littlestar slowly walked towards the entrance, taking one last look at the dark sky.

 _Hide behind these clouds all you want. I know you're watching me._


	33. Chapter 32

The sky was still blocked by the unrelenting smoke clouds. Only the dim silhouette of the high sun told the time for the cats. The hot air flowed through the pelts of two cats standing in front of the camp. Their tails frisked around in the wind as the two shook the dust from their pelts.

"Are you ready to go?" Heavyclaw said, his brown-grey fur flowing in the breeze.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Burn scratched one of his furless spots. "Wolfgang tells me some of them were your friends."

The deputy shook his head, scraping at the stone-covered ground slowly. "I'd like to see my friends off to StarClan. But it's a rule Longstar enforced; the camp cannot be leaderless at any given time. And Fleetheart's too busy checking over the others for her to take command."

Burn nodded. "I'll have to thank her when I get back. The two cats she took in when I agreed to fight for the clan are doing better now."

Two more cats came out the entrance to camp, both led by a grey and black tom.

"Ah good," Burn said, "You're here. Now we're just waiting on the short one."

"You still haven't learned our names?" Wolfgang asked. "You see us every night."

Burn looked over his surroundings, watching several birds fly from their perches. "Well, I'll get it eventually."

Heavyclaw moved away from the group of cats. "Burn, are those two of yours going to stay and fight when they're healed?"

"One of them is," Burn responded, his ears falling flat. "More in, he has to. Fleetheart says he's hurt where she can't reach him and would probably stick to hunting and scouting… I wish the other one would join him, though. He has a mate that left, and I know she's going to be worried about him. But I thank him for helping out anyway, the big _dummkoph_."

"Well that's good to hear," Heavyclaw responded. "We need all the cats we can get. Especially now. I don't want any of you splitting up. Hunter-killer patrols could still be out there, and they always travel in groups of three or four. And if you find Blueclaw's patrol, escort them in and then go back out with them. Eight is better than four."

"We'll be fine," Wolfgang said. "Usually are."

Heavyclaw narrowed his eyes and looked towards the ground, scraping at the stones beneath his paws. The wind picked up, blowing more dust and ash at the cats.

"How did Littlestar take the losses?" he asked. "She was avoiding me last night."

Before any could answer him, the entrance slammed completely open. A small, brown cat was frantically searching her surroundings. Shortfang bounded past the group into the center of the clearing. She meticulously searched the ash-laden ground, sniffing at it every few heartbeats.

Shortfang ran back to the group, holding her one ear as high as she could. She began looking over the tops of the tall Twoleg nests and the nearby piles of rubble.

"Has anyone seen her?!" she frantically yelled.

"Settle down," Wolfgang said. "Seen who?"

Shortfang ran up to her old mentor, practically pressing her nose against his.

"Littlestar. She's gone! I can't find her. I don't know where she went or what she's doing but she's gone. I can't believe I lost her! Fleetheart gave me one job, and—"

"Shortfang, _calm_ down," Heavyclaw said deeply. Shortfang lowered her head towards her deputy, her heart still racing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But she has no scent and she's really good at sneaking and she just kind of… lost me."

Heavyclaw lifted the small warrior's head from the ground with his paw. Her dark orange eyes sympathetically glanced across the cats standing in front of her.

"I didn't know that Littlestar was being followed," Heavyclaw said. "I'm guessing Fleetheart put you up to it."

"We'll make it our top priority to find her," Wolfgang said. "My nose is still great in this ash. She's not _completely_ scentless. I'm sure I can catch something of her."

"No," he responded.

The other cats suddenly stared at him. He stood tall, looking past them, towards the thunderpath that bordered LeafClan.

"Littlestar can take care of herself," he continued. "Plus, looking for her could alert any wildcats in the area of her presence. None of them will be able to find her. With how the wind is right now, she's impossible to scent. For any cat."

Wolfgang narrowed his eyes at his deputy. "We can't just let her go off like that. She could be hurt, or in trouble. She's our leader, come on!"

"We will find her," Heavyclaw responded. "Shortfang, have you had your wraps changed out yet?"

"I'm ready to leave," she responded.

He nodded his head. "Good. Then assemble a patrol of other rouges with bald patches. And take Karl and Flaum with you. Those big ears of theirs might be able to hear something thorough the wind and fires. Find Littlestar and advise her to return to camp. Call for help only if she's fighting."

He turned towards the other group, fronted by Burn. "Keep to your original orders. Gather the dead from yesterday's ambushes. But your top priority now is finding Littlestar. It isn't right to leave the dead out there for the pigeons and rats, but StarClan would look down on us all if our leader wandered off and was killed by our negligence."

The others nodded their heads. Shortfang quickly disappeared through the front entrance. Burn and Wolfgang signaled the other two cats with them to leave. The four ran from the clearing and around the corner of camp, leaving Heavyclaw alone in the clearing.

He walked towards the center of it, shutting his eyes as he felt the scrapes and sting of the wind. He felt the warm air grow uncomfortable against his scratches and loose fur.

Heavyclaw opened his eyes, moving towards the nearby thunderpath border and looking down it. In the distance, near the gathering spot, he saw glints of orange lights spring up from the Twoleg nests.

"Those ones too," he said. "Everything is burning around us. If Panzer was right about her defect, this heat could kill her if she pushes herself… Littlestar, we can't lose you right now. I don't want to take a chance with that improper nine lives ceremony. Whatever it is that you had to do, just remember you have limits. And that they're all around you."

The low crackle of flames echoed down the large, clear thunderpath. The long-abandoned Twoleg structures were covered in bright strings and deep cracks. Through the broken holes, she watched the fires begin their long burn.

The grey and brown she-cat stayed close to the small rubble piles on the left side of the path, keeping away from the large, open area in the middle. She bounded in silence across and under the debris, her eyes locked directly ahead of her.

The Twoleg trinket on her collar flung all around with each long stride. The rest stayed tight around her neck; the wraps from the medicine den on her scruff keeping it still. In each step, she felt only vigor. Her long tail swayed side to side in a rhythmic trance behind her, waving around each obstacle she avoided.

 _I'll show them what a real leader looks like,_ Littlestar thought, quickening her pace. _I know that was Pineheart I saw back there. He threw my clanmates into that fire. And he's still out there, looking for more cats. I'm certain of it… let's see how he likes it when I toss a wildcat into the flames!_

The fires in the Twoleg nests across from her began to glow brighter. She felt the blasts of heat from the structures as the hard, clear barriers could no longer hold them back. All around her they blasted to pieces towards the ground below. The higher ones began to groan as slabs of stone and dust fell from the upper floors.

Littlestar did not even stop as the sirens cried in the distance. The roar of one of the Twoleg thundersticks echoed as well. She followed the smoke trail through the dense cloud of ash that swirled above.

The heat intensified, her ears flattened. She slowed her pace to a quick walk, but did not pant. A stronger wind brought more warm air across her battered pelt and bare skin. She closed her eyes as each shot from the thundersticks slammed her ears. Harder and deeper; they rattled her aching head with each boom.

 _Ah I can't take this anymore!_

Littlestar bounded into the center of the thunderpath. She quickly sat and tried to control her rapid heartbeat, breathing in and out slowly. She slammed her front paws against the ground several times.

Her tail curled inward as she fell to the ground. Her paws closed around her head, her ears covering that.

Each time the Twolegs attacked, her blood culled within. She clenched her fangs together, the crackle of the fires dragging throughout her thoughts.

 _No… no! Not like that night. Not like that night!_

Her mind closed around her. She was suddenly surrounded by fire. She covered her eyes and squeezed them shut as tight as she could. It did not stop the images from coming.

Before her, a she-cat with a collar around her neck appeared.

 _Help me, s_ he screamed. _Littlescent, don't let me die here!_

 _I'm coming,_ she shouted back.

Littlestar ran as fast as she could, the cat continued to drift further and further away from her. She collapsed quickly in exhaustion, the heat of the fires overwhelming her. They closed and danced in circles around her, stepping closer to the she-cat. Large pieces of rubble appeared around her. The tough, silver Twoleg material was twisted around her, trapping her in.

 _Don't let me die here, Littlescent. Save me!_

Littlestar was flung next to the she-cat, standing just paw-steps away from her. Littlestar moved closer to the Twoleg materials, but the heat drove her back. She reached her paw out to touch them; it lashed back, burning her pad.

The she-cat's fur caught with the flames. They continued to move around her, closing in on Littlestar. She rolled around, trying to extinguish them. Eventually she began thrashing profusely in her prison.

 _Ah! It burns, Littlescent. What do I do? Help me; please don't let me die!_

Her pleas turned into shrieks as she thrashed around.

 _Help, I'm on fire, Littlescent!_

 _I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!_ Littlestar flopped to the floor panting, struggling to keep her eyes open. _I can't… forgive me, please._

The she-cat yelled and flung about as the flames consumed her body. All Litltestar could make out was her dark outline within the flames. She tried to tear her vision from the scene, but her head would not move.

The scent of the burning flesh wafted into her nose. In a last, desperate gesture she reached her paw through one of the openings. Littlestar extended her own paw.

The she-cat's paw began to move away from her body. The bones inside snapped to keep it moving. Littlestar could hear its flesh tear away from the burning husk of her body. It continued to reach out to her. Littlestar extended her own closer. She nearly had it around her own.

 _I'm not letting you go this time._

 _Snap out of it,_ the paw responded.

 _Not until I have you._

Littlestar was smacked across her face and rolled over. The fires faded around her, replaced by the burning Twoleg structures. Her vision returned. Standing over her, another cat.

She saw the larger face with the small ears, the long whiskers, and the large paws. The cat's white underbelly, tinged red, glowed against the dark sky. It leaned her face closer and began licking around her nose and mouth.

Littlestar's eyes shot open. She shoved the wildcat away from her face and brought out her claws. Growling and hissing at the cat, her eyes began to focus. She scrambled to her feet at the sight of her, noticing the familiar grey and white pelt.

"I'm glad I found you," she said. "I thought you done for. Dangerous fires kill any warrior, no matter how brave."

 _Mousetail_ , Littlestar thought, her vision finally clearing. _Of all the wildcats, why Mousetail… unless she's also a hunter-killer_.

"I won't signal other wildcats," Mousetail continued. "But you should still leave our territory. Hunter-killer patrols still happening, even at borders."

Littlestar looked to the ground below her, feeling the heat pulsating through her relaxing muscles.

"Yeah, I know."

Mousetail glanced around at the burning structures. "This area has no prey and no medicine. Thought be moss with the broken Twoleg stuff leaking water. But with fire, I know I won't find anything. I pretend I not see you. Least I can do for what's happened."

 _So that's it, huh. Letting me go makes up for all the cats that died yesterday. That's supposed to make me feel better… you're 'letting me go', as if you could kill me or something? Like you have control here? In_ our _territory?_

Littlestar felt her claws scraping the stones below.

 _I'm in some powerless position again? I don't think so. Not like this… you are the powerless one here, savage._

"Well?" Mousetail said. "What you waiting for? I told Flyfoot to get cats to help earlier. They be here soon. You must leave."

 _This is my chance… StarClan gave me this opportunity to strike a blow to LeafClan. And I won't waste it._

Mousetail nudged Littlestar. "Please go. I not want you to die here. Flyfoot will bring hunter-killer patrol with others. You won't escape—"

Littlestar chomped down on Mousetail's forepaw. She wiggled her fang deep past the muscles. Before she could scream, Littlestar reared up and slammed down on the top of her head. The wildcat was shoved to the ground. She scratched her rear claws against the stone, trying to fight back.

Littlestar raked her across the face and bit down on her scruff. She dragged the medicine cat from the middle of the thunderpath and back near the structures. She pushed her into an enclosed area underneath one that had yet to catch fire.

Mousetail rolled over, throwing her superior weight into it. Littlestar stamped down on her neck before she could get up. She rolled her onto her back and raked across her nose.

"Littlestar!" she said. "What… why do this? I wanted you to run."

She could feel her body temperature rising. Littlestar's heart rate soared. Her muscles pulsed and pressed hard against her skin. Other sensations failed her; she could barely feel Mousetail's soft fur underneath the pressure of her claws.

Mousetail's nose began leaking blood. Part of its flesh came loose and flapped with the wind.

"Why are you doing this?"

Littlestar growled even louder, slashing lightly across her ear. She moved her leg underneath Mousetail's left thigh, pushing until she could feel the bone move.

Mousetail resisted the urge to scream, clenching her mouth shut. Littlestar smacked her across the face again. A terrible hiss echoed from her mouth, muffled by the sound of the flames of the Twoleg structures.

The wildcat weakly turned back towards her attacker. "Littlestar, please. I still want to believe—"

Another blow to her face. Littlestar put more pressure on Mousetail's chest before scraping underneath her chin. She lifted her Mousetail's head up and ran her claws over her chin. And again, repeatedly scratching.

"Littlestar, I still… I still believe you can—"

"That I can what?!" she screamed, striking her face again. "That I can unite the clans? That I can save cats instead of getting them killed?!"

She pushed her hind leg against Mousetail's even harder. The wildcat let out a small squeal before she was clawed across the face again. Littlestar hit her again, aiming for her mouth.

Mousetail spat out a fang before continuing, blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

"Yes. I still believe in you. I want clans to stop fighting. I don't want this war. But I'm just one cat. I need you ali—"

"You need me to leave?! So you can take pity on me?!" Littlestar smashed her paw into Mousetail's nose. She could feel a spray under her paws. Removing it left her with a flattened, bleeding nose. Littlestar wiped her paw on the cat's cheek.

"You don't need to take pity on me," Littlestar said, continuing to rub her paw against the medicine cat's cheek. "I'm no longer sitting by and watching."

Mousetail hacked up bile, spraying it across Littlestar's face. She growled and raked her other ear. She pressed her paw into her thigh even harder.

Mousetail turned her head again to look at Littlestar. "I'm just one cat. I need you to help me end this… on your side. We are starving. We are dying… to fight on like that is insane."

Littlestar held back her hiss, leaning close to Mousetail.

"You expect me to believe that? After you've killed so many of my cats in cold blood? My clanmates… I grew up with most of these cats. And you savages kill them for what? For territory? For your old prophecy? For revenge?!"

She raked Mousetail across the chest. "For what? Tell me! Tell my why you kill our cats?! That doesn't seem like 'uniting the clans' to me."

She raked her again and again. Mousetail's underbelly was quickly stained a deeper red. Littlestar did not stop. She kept clawing at her over and over, pushing harder on her thigh with her paw. Mousetail clenched her jaw shut as Littlestar clawed her reputedly. She could feel the wildcat's skin scraping away. But she did not stop.

Mousetail opened her mouth and hacked up more blood. "I… I not… know… how to make them stop."

Don't give me _scheiß,_ give me answers!" Littlestar smacked her again across the face, catching her eye. The left one flooded red before Mousetail clenched it shut.

"Please," she said softly. "Please… stop… it hurts badly. Please, Littlestar."

Littlestar felt her blood heat at her words. She let out a loud hiss and shoved her rear paw into Mousetail's thigh. The snap of her bone echoed over the fires as she pressed the broken leg to the ground. Mousetail let out a whimper, clenching her scream.

Littlestar ran her paw across her face and held it still, forcing the medicine cat's one good eye close to hers.

"You know what hurts?" she asked. "Seeing my clanmates die!"

She hit her again.

"Watching them as a prisoner!"

She raked her across the chin.

"Seeing you heartless cats burn them!"

She dug her paw deeper into her chest. She kept pushing until she felt a rough bone bend under her weight. The medicine cat let out short, raspy breaths through her mouth. Her nose continued pouring blood. Even with her eye closed, it continued to leak out the side of the socket.

"So where are they!" Littlestar yelled. "Flyfoot and those others. They're supposed to be coming to kill me, right? So where are they so _I_ can kill _them!_ "

Mousetail gasped for words. None got through Littlestar's pressure. She opened her mouth wider and wider, her raspy breaths stopping altogether. Her eyes shot open. The crushed one let a torrent of blood down her face. A pool began to form below her head.

Littlestar released her grip on the medicine cat. She took in short breaths of dirty air, coughing viciously on the leader's face. She let the blood run over her short fur, staring straight into Mousetail's one good eye.

The two cats stood there, watching each other. Mousetail's eye trembled under the sight of her assailant. Blood had covered all the white in her fur. The scent of it had coated her and Littlestar.

Littlestar's breaths were short and deep. Her muscles twitched about as embers began to gather in the thunderpath behind them.

 _I'll have you, and then I'll have them… you lied to me, anyway. Uniting the clans is impossible. StarClan is impossible! Everything about this is impossible!_

Littlestar leaned close, practically touching Mousetail's ear with her mouth.

"It's over for you."

She moved away from her ear, wrapping her jaws around her throat. She shifted her one top fang around to make sure it would strike the center. The collar's trinket pushed deep into the wildcat's chest.

Mousetail's crushed nose was buried in Littlestar's fur. Her blood began to cover her face as well. She shifted it away, leaning her chin towards the sky and forcing her eyes wide open. Her body shook as she extended her tongue and began cleaning Littlestar's forehead.

"I still… I still believe in you, Littlestar," Mousetail whispered. "At least, what you stand for."

Her vision became cloudy. Littlestar tried to move her jaw, but only quivered. Each stroke of Mousetail's tongue was cool compared to the fires nearby.

She tried to force the visions out of her head, but they blocked her vision. Mousetail faded away. Darkness and fire enclosed her. The trapped, burning cat appeared right in front of her.

 _I still… believe in you,_ she said.

Littlestar curled her nose at the scent of burning flesh. Her eyes were forced onto the she-cat.

 _We can all still be saved,_ she said.

 _Stop it!_ Littlestar screamed. She twitched around, panting deeply. She tapped her burning paw pads on and off the ground. But the heat continued to flood and cloud her senses.

 _Littlestar,_ the she-cat said, _please don't do this. Don't kill me… not finished here, yet._

 _Please!_ Littlestar cried. _Please stop saying my name!_

The she-cat reached out its paw. _I am not ready for StarClan, Littlestar please._

 _Make it stop!_ Littlestar's body began shaking all over. She tried to break her forehead free of the cool sensation that ran over it. _Make it stop I can't take this!_

The cat's burning paw rested on her shoulder. Littlestar's eyes began to wet with blood. She struggled, but her body betrayed her. The she-cat's paw felt cold to the touch; the flames did not catch onto her own fur.

Her head leaned closer to Littlestar's. As close as her cage of rubble would let it. The flames that danced around the two began to recede.

 _Littlestar, you… were one of the better ones. And my time in this world was coming to an end, anyway. I wish you… quick recovery from your torment. But I still… I forgive you._

 _No!_

The darkness snapped away. The fires vanished. Her vision was replaced with a deep red liquid oozing past her.

Littlestar's sensation returned. She felt an ache in her jaws. They were still wrapped around Mousetail. She removed them and stared into her eyes. The medicine cat's deep, green eye was still and wide, the other continued to pour blood. Her entire head was coated in it. Her muscles were stiff, her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

Littlestar stepped away from the dead medicine cat. Her head fell to the side; her green eye disappeared underneath.

She leaped back and looked down at her paws. They were soaked in Mousetail's blood. Her dry eyes clamped down, forcing the blood out of them.

 _It's… I'm…_

Littlestar continued to back away from the elder wildcat. She caught a glimpse of her limp tail. Lying near it was her hind leg, lining up with it perfectly, disconnected from its bone.

Whirling her head away, Littlestar began coughing as she walked away from the dead cat. The coughing soon became a torrent of bile. She spilled it all over her blood-soaked paws.

 _StarClan, StarClan. Can you hear me now?_

Littlestar felt the heat of the inferno around her flood over her. The dark clouds drew even lower. Each piece of rubble falling shot through her ears. The sirens were the last to return, followed by the deep echoes of the thundersticks.

Her eyes remained wide open as she bounded from the area. She refused to look back at her kill.

 _Where did the cool go?_ The thought pestered her over and over. _Where did that cold tongue go?_

Her new patch began to buckle in the intense wind that flowed across the clearing, exposing most of her missing ear. Shortfang had let go of it after seeing a small, grey cat walk up to her.

Littlestar's eyes remained wide; the trinket on her collar was waving in the strong winds. Ash swirled around them as Shortfang ran up to her.

"Littlestar!" she cried. "Littlestar, I was so… Littlestar?"

She noticed her leader's wet, trembling paws with each step, her muzzle soaked red. She did not even turn to acknowledge the small warrior.

"Littlestar? Littlestar! You're covered in blood." She moved closer to her. "You need help. You need—"

"Get… away… from me. Now."

Shortfang stopped just short of her leader and watched her waver past. She reached her paw out to touch her, but withdrew it quickly.

"Littlestar?" she said.

She was ignored again. Her leader wandered through the entrance. She saw other cats run up and stop just short of her. She continued to wade through the group of cats and towards the steps to the second floor of camp.

Shortfang slowly made her way to the entrance of camp, the wind continued to scratch at her exposed burns.

"Littlestar?"


	34. Chapter 33

The air was dry, still tainted with foul smoke. It flowed all throughout camp, even the dens with no holes were filled with it. The leader's den was deserted; the large hole overlooking the front clearing let in too much of the ash to host a meeting.

Instead, the cats gathered in what used to be the queen's den. Only one sealed hole that Twolegs would look out of remained, no moonlight penetrating the black clouds. It left the group near complete darkness.

The floor still had stains from where cats had given birth, and one where the last remaining queen was killed. Littlestar sat right on top of it, staring at it like she always did with Longstar's blood stain in the leader's den.

 _It was for you,_ she thought, leaning closer to the stain. _That kill was for you and your kits._

The entrance was nearly closed. There were no other cats moving about on the upper floor. Everyone took to sleeping on the first floor. Four other cats were gathered with Littlestar. Sharpfang sat underneath a large Twoleg symbol hanging from the wall. Whitestar sat underneath the covered hole. A blue-grey cat lay near him, Blueclaw, who kept her eyes on the entrance.

They sat in silence, most looking near Littlestar's position. She continued to stare at the blood stain underneath her paws. She kept leaning closer, slowly, seeming to whisper to it.

"Didn't you want to speak to us?" Sharpfang said. Littlestar immediately looked up.

"Yes," Whitestar said. "I have some things that will need to be passed to all—"

The entrance creaked open. Burn sulked through and took his seat between Blueclaw and Heavyclaw. He seemed to have lost even more of his fur.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. His ears flattened and his tail fell to the floor. "There were more than we thought."

The rest of the cats dipped their heads. "Wolfgang and the short one are taking care of the rest." He began licking at one of the bald patches on his front paw.

Whitestar looked up first, nodding. "The first thing I wanted to talk about was our casualties, as a matter of fact. In the Upper Territories alone, we lost four patrols, nine cats total. That, plus the cats we lost in the Lower Territories. We did not expect any wildcats to move that far in, but one of our hunting patrols caught one of theirs in our territory.

Outnumbered four to two, our patrol was killed, unfortunately. Another two patrols got their distress cries and chased off the wildcats, killing one in the process… we were unable to retrieve the dead from that area, though. Their bodies were gone by the time another patrol came to get them."

The other cats looked towards each other in silence, except for Littlestar. She was staring out the closed hole across from her. She watched as the ash continued to flow by, the scratch of it on the clear-barrier making her ears twitch about.

"That is not all," he continued. "The patrol led by Shortfang moved along the border. They were spotted by wildcats after stumbling across the path Littlestar had gone down. They said Flyfoot ordered them hunted down. They got away but lost one in their escape, without locating Littlestar."

Whitestar stared right into Littlestar's eyes. "In total, we lost five patrols, about one quarter of our numbers in exchange for one wildcat. And I—"

" _Two_ wildcats," Littlestar snapped. The group focused their attention on her. "Two wildcats are dead because of this, not one." she immediately went back to staring out the clear-barrier.

Whitestar went back to addressing the group. "With these losses, sustaining any positions outside of the clan is no longer possible. We have already abandoned our Lower Territory position. Bonbon had greater numbers than we did, and we can no longer keep them off so much territory. We should only defend around our camp from now on."

None of the cats responded to his words. They all just continued to stare at Littlestar, who continued to ignore them. She stood completely still, her dull, green eyes fixated on the ash flowing outside.

"I agree," Heavyclaw said, still looking towards his leader. The other cats nodded their heads. Whitestar flicked his tail.

"Then it is settled," he said. "There were herbs and stuff left there by Fleetheart and me, but I doubt it is still good. Either the wildcats have taken it or the ash has ruined it. When we are done here, make sure to tell Wolfgang's patrol not to return for it."

Burn nodded. "I'll tell him,"

They sat in silence again, all eyes continuing to point towards Littlestar. She glanced at their stares, then quickly turned hers away and back at the clear barrier.

 _I can't even see the night sky,_ she thought, staring intently at the black wind outside. _Good. That means they can't, either._

The cats stayed in silence for a few moments longer. The ash continued to scratch at the barrier, yet all attention was on Littlestar.

Burn flicked his tail impatiently.

"If no one else will say it I will," he said. "Littlestar, where _were_ you? From what we all heard, you just ran off along the border. Why would you even _think_ that was a good idea? Patrols were lost in your own territory! So what made you think running off near the border was going to accomplish?"

Littlestar shook her head, but kept it down. All eyes lay upon her. "The wind was strong, and the structures were beginning to burn. They would've never detected me as long as I was hidden."

"And that's another thing," he continued. "You ran down a thunderpath where everything was on fire. Fire! Heat puts you out like _that_. You could've collapsed back there and got captured again—"

"You shut your mouth. Right now." Littlestar finally moved her head upright, turning towards Burn. The dirty wraps on the back of her neck were rustled by her loosened collar. "You really think you can say something like that when you don't even _use_ your injuries to your advantage?"

Burn narrowed his eyes. "You're the one who's about to get yourself killed doing something stupid like going off alone. That would've been a real waste of the 'gift' you have."

"How many times have you attacked when you barely hold a scent? Once? And it was with your group, too… that makes you about as useful as a dead mouse."

He jumped up from his position, his fur patches bristling and his bright, yellow eyes wide.

Littlestar flicked her tail towards him. "No, even less useful. At least a dead mouse can feed a cat."

Burn's eyes shot open even wider. He let out a low growl, leaning his belly closer to the ground.

"Speaking of food," she continued, "how much of it have your hunting patrols caught? Nothing? Seems like those rouges of yours I brought on were more of a burden than—"

"My kin have _died_ believing in you!" Burn slammed his paws on the floor, leaping just a paw step from his leader. Littlestar sat, unmoved. Her head immediately looked away from his wide eyes and back towards her own paws.

"We have been divided by _your_ war, not mine. Half my kin aren't even here anymore, and I'll never see them again."

Littlestar dipped her head even lower.

"The rest are injured in your medicine den. Fighting _your_ war. Following _your_ orders. Dying for _your_ stupid ambitions. You call yourself a leader? Look around! Three quarters of the StoneClan cats are now is dead and what do you do? You run off to go kill a single cat. A _single_ wildcat! As if that—"

"That's enough, Burn." Heavyclaw boomed. He turned towards the shaking, brown cat. Burn backed away from Littlestar slowly, not taking his gaze from her.

The rest of the room sat in silence, waiting for Burn's fur to fall back to normal against his body. Whitestar flicked his tail.

"We need to discuss this, Littlestar. According to Shortfang the wildcat you killed was Mousetail, LeafClan's eldest medicine cat. From previous gatherings, she seemed to be against the border disputes. And, from your own orders, was to be left alive to take charge when Pineheart, Flyfoot, and Horseleaf were all killed to act as an elder voice of reason."

Burn narrowed her eyes at Littlestar once more. His claws extended, scratching the floor below. Littlestar began to paw at the trinket hanging from her neck.

Blueclaw held her head up. "She told of the destruction of all clans if we were to ever go to war. It was a prophecy she received before the first war with StoneClan. But she also understood the plight of the StoneClan led by Bonbon.

"Yellowstar met with her many times after the war. She was there with Wolfstar during the wildcat's retreat from the forest and into this Twolegplace. Thanks to Mousetail, Wolfstar did not let his old grudges or pride command him, and sought another solution to his clan's overpopulation."

"You're forgetting something, blue one," Burn said, pointing a claw at Littlestar. "That one over there was captured by the wildcats after that inferno night. Had she not been so careless as to spy while injured—"

Littlestar's head shot up. "Burn—"

"I found you half dead in their camp!" he shouted. "Now try and tell me how useful to your clan you were like that?"

"Burn!" Heavyclaw shouted. "Control yourself."

Littlestar's breathing quickened. Her fur had spiked, her ears erect and alert.

"All this information on Mousetail's thoughts is nice," Heavyclaw said, "But she's dead now."

"That is why I brought it up," Blueclaw responded. "It could help us predict how the wildcats will respond to this."

The others remained silent. Littlestar looked back at the bloodstain under her paws.

 _And I did that. I killed her. But they don't understand. I did this for the clan. This helps us in the end… I'll just have to make them understand._

Whitestar tapped his paw on the floor. "I believe their response will be a violent revenge attack. After Wolfstar's death, they must have looked to her for guidance. Even if Eaglestar or Flyfoot did not feel the same, others did. If there was any motivation for them to destroy us besides hunting grounds, they have it."

Burn shot an angry glance at Littlestar, who paid him no attention. He seethed a growl through his fangs.

"Littlestar," Whitestar said. "What do you think we should do?"

Littlestar kept her head facing the floor. She began to paw at the trinket hanging from her collar. Her breathing slowed and her ears flattened once more.

"What does it matter," she whispered.

"Excuse me?" Burn shouted.

"I killed their lead medicine cat. If anything, it helped us. Every time we injure them, it will be that much harder for them to recover."

"Did you hear a word he just said?" Burn yelled. "You killed our chances at giving them a peaceful leader. And they're probably coming in _full force_."

"Nothing changed." Littlestar responded. "He planned to wipe us out anyway. If we aren't out there hunting or defending our borders, his hunter-killers are useless. They would've had to come back here eventually."

Burn let out a wild hiss, his claws cutting deep into the floor. His ears were flat and he dropped lower, ready to pounce.

"I don't want to hear 'nothing's changed' when most of my friends are gone. And so are most of yours, and Whitestar's. Everything has changed!"

Littlestar returned to her sulking position staring at the floor. The other cats were silent, sitting patiently. Each of them was staring at Littlestar.

The ash-laden wind continued to cut into the clear barrier. Its edges began to rattle and buckle under the strength of it. The last bits of light bled out of the room, leaving the cats in darkness.

Littlestar hid her dull, green eyes from the others.

 _They're staring at me_ , she thought, imagining three pairs of eyes hovering above her. _They're still watching me. Waiting for me… they want me to save them? No. No one should want me to save them… I'll only—_

The entrance burst open and slammed against the wall behind it. A dark figure of a cat stood within it. Light from the outside dotted the cats.

"Trouble," the cat said, Christa's voice. "There's a group of wildcats coming! A large one. One of our scouts has already been killed."

Littlestar pushed past her littermate and sprinted towards the steps. She looked down at the clearing. Wolfgang was already directing the others in setting up the thundersticks and fake-claws. Their brilliant shine had given way to the dull red of wildcat blood.

She bounded down the steps, the others behind her. Her words echoed in the back of her mind.

 _Let him come, let him come._

She moved past the cats readying the defenses. The front and side entrances slammed shut. Two thundersticks were being moved into the medicine den. Fleetheart was helping an injured tom out of the way, while the other injured cats limped towards the center.

"Not here," Fleetheart said. "Head up to the second floor and wait. You're all injured."

"No way," the injured tom responded, the remaining patches of his fur bristling. "Burn told us to defend our own, and our keep. And that's what we're going to do."

Littlestar felt a pang in her chest as she reared up to look out the low-bearing hole, no barrier to obstruct her vision.

The torrent was still going, but she could still see the thunderpath across from camp clearly. Several of them were low to the ground, their fur bristling. They were already waiting for their orders. But two of them returned to normal and parted way. Down the center of the mass walked two wildcats.

One had dirty, white fur and narrow, hazel eyes, piercing through Littlestar' gaze. The other, a large, brown tom with the same hazel eyes, took a position at her side.

His dark figure clashed with the black sky and ash that quickly flooded her vision. He aimed his head forward, seemingly looking straight at her. Littlestar's tail twitched as she forced herself to keep staring.

"Littlestar!" the low voice boomed. "This is Horseleaf, leader of LeafClan."

Her heart skipped a beat. Her ears stood as high as they would go. And her paws were trembling in place as her mouth flooded with saliva. Fangs clenched, she resisted every urge to sprint into the storm of ash.

"I offer you one last deal. One _last_ deal… in exchange for all your territory, we allow your clan to leave Twolegplace for good."

The cats behind Littlestar began to hiss and jeer wildly at their aggressors. Whitestar emerged behind her, waving his paws to calm her down.

"We also want one more thing," Horseleaf shouted. "Littlestar, we want you dead. You give up life, and all your comrades go unharmed. I swear by good name of Wolfstar they will be unharmed."

Littlestar nearly fell from her spot. Her eyes went wide, staring straight at Horseleaf's blurred figure. The wind continued to torment the camp, rattling the loose stone and wood pieces. Even the wildcats outside struggled against it.

She slowly turned her head back, but stopped halfway. Her paws and tail were shaking violently when she faced back to the outside. The camp was too silent behind her. Not even a murmur from any of them. They just held their position, waiting for the wildcats to charge.

 _I won't turn_ , she thought. _I won't watch them think 'yes'._

"We would never agree to something like that!" Whitestar shouted as he leaped up onto the ledge next to Littlestar. "You can forget about your offer. We stand with her."

Horseleaf and Flyfoot walked into the camp's boundaries. Littlestar was almost able to see his face, but the wind picked up. The two wildcats clung to the ground as the ash nibbled at their skin.

"Last chance!" he shouted above the torrent. "No more chances after. You give us Littlestar, or you all die here!"

Whitestar turned to face Littlestar, leaning close to her ear.

"Littlestar," he said, "We follow our warrior code, StarClan, and our leaders. You know where we stand. What about you?"

Her whole body ceased shaking, petrified. Her eyes narrowed towards the two wildcats. Her tail flopped carelessly in the wind, her ears flat against her head.

 _This is it,_ she thought, clenching her fangs. _I can end our clan's suffering, end my suffering… but would it change anything? Would they even let us go? After what I did to Mousetail… her prophecy called for the destruction of all other clans. StarClan watches silently for many moons. This ends now, them or us._

She arched her head up, straightening her whole body.

"You die here, Horseleaf!"

The cats in the camp began to grip the thundersticks even tighter now. She jumped down, leaned up against the wall with other cats. Whitestar left and took a position closer to the center.

Horseleaf lowered his head.

"There will be more death… LeafClan, attack! That clan ends here!"

The mass of wildcats sprinted across the thunderpath and were quickly upon the camp. Littlestar poked her head over the ledge to watch the charge.

What was once plump flesh and swelling muscles was replaced by bones that wiggled with each step. Their legs were skinny and their hips were flat. Tuffs of fur were already missing from most of them. The ash had taken a toll on their skin; parts of them were blackened and bruised. The skin around their mouths was cracked and peeling. Their murderous eyes saw only one target.

Whitestar dug deep into her flank and dragged her down to the floor as the wildcats leaped through the entrance. He pressed both of them against the wall.

Two wildcats already hung from the fake-claws. Several landed in the camp. They immediately jumped on the first cat they saw.

One she-cat had her neck sliced by the claws of two wildcats before they were brought down by another group. They pinned the two, ready to deal the killing blow.

Another wildcat leaped onto them and took them to the ground. He chomped down on a warrior's neck before he was slashed across his chest, smashing the bones that hung underneath.

Two cats pushed a thunderstick to the center of the hole. One wildcat immediately joined her clanmate from the end of the fake-claw. The thunderstick fell under the weight, right back in the camp.

The wildcat on the stick continued to struggle and thrash. Her sharp claws tore off the eye of another cat. He screamed out in pain, freezing as she stretched her claws and tore his face. Strips of flesh hit the floor hard as her claws went deeper. He shook as he lost his nose, and his fangs.

His clanmate ran over and shoved the thunderstick, thrusting the wildcat away. It was no use. The other cat fell to the floor, his blood running towards Littlestar.

Whitestar continued to press against Littlestar, holding her face from the battle. She fought and struggled against him, clawing at his back.

"Get off me!" she screamed. "They're dying all around me! Let me fight!"

"We can't let them win," Whitestar responded. "Not like this!"

Another wildcat turned at his words. Her mouth salivated, green eyes aimed right at the leaders. She splashed in the blood of the dead warrior and lunged at the white and black tom. He braced, another clanmate shoving her away. They tumbled into a third cat.

"She's mine!" the wildcat shouted.

She tore the cat's flesh open. The smaller cat screamed. The wildcat pinned her down and moved on top of her. She sunk her fangs into the smaller cat's jaw, tearing and pulling at it.

"Stop screaming!"

The wildcat stamped her long claws down the smaller cat's throat. And did it again. And again.

Littlestar kicked Whitestar off her. Her clanmate was being crushed under the wildcat's paw. Her jaw rolled into her mouth. The wildcat kept stomping until she felt her claws break through the small cat's neck. And kept crushing her.

The small cat's head rolled to the side. The wildcat propped it back up and stomped again.

"Useless stone cat!" she shouted, crushing the inside of her mouth. "You killed us all! You killed us all!"

 _No, not again!_

Littlestar leaped into the air at the wildcat. Another cat caught her midway. Both tumbled to the ground and closer into camp. Littlestar felt a snap inside her as the wildcat smashed into her side. She flew towards the center of camp.

The cats around her stepped away. Littlestar hobbled to her feet. The wildcat flew clear over her and between her clanmates.

Several wildcats charged into the group of injured cats. Every cat was fighting. It left Littlestar with her opponent. Her white fur was nearly grey with dirt, but her wide, blue glare was unmistakable, even in the darkness.

"Your heart no better than a fire-faller's!" she shouted. "She treats you, and that how you repay her? I will avenge her for your disgrace. And all of Silverpelt will cheer!"

Flyfoot leaped onto Littlestar. The two tumbled towards the steps. Flyfoot quickly got up and swiped Littlestar across her broken ribs. A large paw came down on her face before she could scream.

Littlestar struggled against the weight. Her legs flailed, claws scraping against the floors.

Flyfoot leaned close to her victim's ear. "You die here, coward."

Her jaws nearly wrapped under Littlestar's collar. She burst from her pin, moving her head under Flyfoot's hind legs. She sprung her body into the air and gripped the wildcat's underbelly.

Flyfoot rolled and leaped around when fangs crunched her tail. Littlestar kicked as hard as she could, claws scraping behind the wildcat's ears. She felt the warmth of blood run down her paw pads.

 _I can do it again,_ she thought. _I can kill another—_

Flyfoot crushed the much smaller cat between her belly and the floor. Littlestar let go, panting. She struggled to roll over. A paw smacked her face as Flyfoot stepped away from the leader. She quickly leaped on top of her, leaning close to her neck.

Littlestar pushed and clawed against the wildcat's neck. Her jaws snapped open and shut, each bite closer to her neck. She slid underneath, grappling from Flyfoot's belly again.

 _It's not ending here!_

The small cat stretched her hind legs in. she could feel the broken bone move further down her chest. Groaning, she slammed her hind legs below the wildcat's chest.

Flyfoot spat blood in her face as she lurched back into her position. Littlestar kicked her again. And again. The wildcat remained frozen as she took each of Littlestar's kicks. Her muzzle was stained with the blood each kick took from her. Eventually she fell, jaw agape.

Littlestar shoved the wildcat off her and limped to her feet. She was shorter than Flyfoot, even while she was on her back. The wildcat looked at her, wide-eyed and paralyzed.

Feeling her vision wane, Littlestar leaned in close to the wildcat's neck.

 _I hear your heartbeat, wildcat… that's right… fear me._

She widened her jaws and wrapped them around Flyfoot's neck. She pressed in.

Flyfoot snapped into the air. Her own jaws tore into Littlestar's neck. She screamed as she fell onto her back once more. Flyfoot drilled her fangs deeper.

Littlestar felt only the wildcat's hot breath against her neck. Just two fangs had hit their mark. She struggled to move the others into position. Flyfoot dug her claws deeper into Littlestar's chest. Her top fangs were lodged into the small collar.

She squirmed under the lean wildcat's weight on her chest. Her broken ribs shifted around. She screamed out in pain, kicking Flyfoot with all her strength.

She lost herself. Flyfoot fell on top of Littlestar. A fang was ripped from her mouth and left in the collar.

She yowled as she jumped away from the leader.

Two large paws shoved her further away. Heavyclaw and Burn loomed over the defeated wildcat. Her dirty, white pelt, now stained red, was torn and stabbed by the two. She struggled to push the two away from her.

Littlestar slid away from her opponent. The wildcat's screams were too much for her to bear. She covered her ears best she could with her front paws. All around her, the cats continued to tear each other apart. The ground quickly became dotted in ash wet with blood.

She lunged to her feet and fell just as fast. The bone in her chest was too far out of position. Blood began to pool around her neck and mouth. She felt her vision wane. Littlestar's face fell to the ground in a pile of red slosh.

 _Not again_ , she thought. _Not now! Not when I was so close!_

Flyfoot shoved the others off her. Burn and Heavyclaw rolled back onto their paws and leaped at her once more. Her fur was completely red. The deep scratches began to drip onto the floor.

Her hazel eyes were wide and wild. She let out a hiss that rattled Littlestar's mind greater than the deaths of those around her.

Then a piercing yowl through the chaos. It sounded three times, from three different cats.

Flyfoot was immediately flanked by four other wildcats. The look they gave was brutal when she tumbled to the ground, eyes still bored into Littlestar.

Bloodshot eyes soon flooded the defender's vision as all the wildcats backed towards the holes in the walls. They kicked the thundersticks away from them. Torrents and shutters of the camp soon filled their ears as the battle died down.

The ash outside deafened the cats. They gripped the floor beneath them as if they would be sucked out the holes. But the wildcats leapt through them and out of sight. One of the larger ones helped Flyfoot over the ledge and was the last to leave.

"Hold!" Whitestar said, running towards Littlestar. "Do not chase! The storm will take us off our paws."

The others scrambled to reposition the thundersticks on the holes. Others leaped onto the ledges to make sure the wildcats were gone. No traces of them outside. All except for one standing near the thunderpath. The cats quickly left, moving towards the center of the camp.

Littlestar broke away from Whitestar and lunged past the others, ending on the ledge. The large tom's fur was barely visible through the fury. But she saw his bright, hazel eyes staring right back at hers.

"Get back here!" Littlestar shouted. "This is all because of you! All from that meeting where you went back on your word. You will pay for your betrayal!"

The wildcat turned tail and slowly walked through the torrent.

"Horseleaf, you traitor! Wolfstar is fading away in StarClan as we speak! You have turned your back on him, and all your dead."

He disappeared in the wrath of smoke and ash flooding the area.

"You have forsaken us all! I was with you! I was willing and you turned your back. All this is because of you!"

He was gone. Littlestar fell off the ledge, right on the body of a wildcat. She scrambled away from it, its dead eyes and red mouth wide open. Its blood covered Littlestar's fur.

 _It's all your fault, Horseleaf,_ she thought.

Whitestar and Heavyclaw approached her. Littlestar swung at both of them. She felt the bone in her chest scrape against her. Her walk slowed to a crawl, slipping and falling in the slosh below her feet.

 _I can't smell this blood. Your wildcat's blood, our clan's blood… the only reason it's on this floor is because of your cowardice._

"This is all his fault," Littlestar said, her clanmates slowly gathering around her. "This is all—"

Her eyes slammed shut.

"Littlestar, Littlestar!" Whitestar shouted. "Back up. Give her some room to breathe."

She felt herself slowly drifting away from her body.

 _Fool. there's nothing in here to breathe except for dirt… and blood…_


	35. Chapter 34

Save for the ash scratching the outside walls of the medicine den, there was silence. The normally smooth floor was covered in dust and bits of fake-fur. Yet it was the cleanest den on the ground floor. The outside still reeked of the blood and ash mix.

Only the sun's faint glow behind the thick, black sky could alert her it was day. The ash storm that tormented the area had gone, bringing on a new fire-fueled heat wave.

Littlestar sat alone in the den, rolled over on one side. Her chest was wrapped in the fake fur, a stick between it to try and set the bones. She could not feel it working, nor did she care. Her face had been cleaned, but the rest of her body was still covered in dirt and dry blood. She could feel it covering almost every bit of her fading pelt.

A lean, black and grey she-cat walked through the entrance from the center of camp. Fleetheart carried a roll of fake-fur in her teeth, her Twoleg medicine pouches slung over her back.

Littlestar watched the Twoleg symbol on the side of them move around the room as Fleetheart rearranged different objects. She left the rest of herself motionless and blank, including her thoughts. They were completely around that symbol.

Fleetheart walked up to Littlestar, sitting across from her. The two could practically touch noses, but they both were still. Littlestar still lay on her side, now looking away from the medicine cat. But Fleetheart stared right into her leader's green eyes, now dulled and narrowed.

"While you were asleep, we counted the cats," Fleetheart said grimly. "We can now count our numbers on the claws of two cats."

Littlestar curled her head away from the medicine cat, glancing at anything else in the den. Fleetheart continued to look towards her leader.

She continued. "They were all buried earlier this morning. Most who died were too injured to be healed… and the remaining clan members are frightened. Pretty bad, too. Some are still shaking, unable to put their claws away. Others are so sad they feel like they can't move. Whatever morale some of them had is gone now."

The leader still refused to look at Fleetheart. She continued her briefing.

"Food is becoming scarce. We sent out a large hunting patrol earlier. They just got back, telling us everything they can see is covered in ash. The sky is black, the Twoleg nests are black, the air is black, the ground is black; what I'd give to StarClan just to see the sun and moon again…

"Anyway if we can't find food, then it means the wildcats can't find any, either. At this rate everyone will starve."

Littlestar shook her head. "Then it's the end of AchseClan… of StoneClan."

"No it's not," Fleetheart responded. "We've held on this long. And also, for every cat that died last night, we took at least one of theirs. They suffered more losses than we did."

"What does it matter," Littlestar whispered away from the medicine cat. "There should still be about six of them for every one of us. More so, now. They could do something desperate like that again and they'd still win. This is the end of AchseClan."

Fleetheart narrowed her eyes. "I don't like you trivializing the deaths of our clanmates. That's not the talk I expect to hear from our leader—"

Littlestar smacked Fleetheart across her face. Her sharp claws tore at the black part of her pelt. She rolled over at the sudden impact. Her bright, blue eyes were wide, sitting – stunned – on the floor. Her small cuts already began to show blood.

"What… Littlestar—"

"Don't you _ever_ call me Littlestar again!"

Littlestar struggled to her feet, towering over Fleetheart with narrow eyes and bulging muscles. She felt a surge of blood flow through her head; the pressure was almost overwhelming.

Fleetheart shook her face and got to her feet, ears and tail shrieking away from her leader.

"I'm only trying to help you. Why would you—"

Another hit. Fleetheart staggered away from the smaller cat, shaking her face once more.

"Stop it! What did I ever do to you?"

Littlestar bore her jagged fangs. Her claws slid out and scraped the ground with each step she took closer to Fleetheart.

"You encouraged me. _You_ wanted me to lead!"

She swiped at Fleetheart. She leaped out of the way and hit the wall behind her. Littlestar began to pad closer, slowly, glaring straight through her.

"If not for you, Heavyclaw would have been in charge, not me! Things might've been better. Might've been easier. But no! It had to be me."

Fleetheart stretched out a paw towards her. "No one could've led this clan besides you. Longstar kept you close to him for a reason. He knew you would be the one to carry on Bonbon's legacy—"

"Shut up!" Littlestar sliced at the air again. Fleetheart turned away, almost curling at her leader's feet.

Littlestar felt her heartbeat soar; her breathing just as fast. Her claws scratched and tapped at the floor beneath her. She was seething her hisses towards the frightened medicine cat, who was barely able to keep her own eyes facing her.

She loomed over her. "I can't even see straight when I'm in battle. All I see is that black night where all those pets died because of me… I should've taken that as a warning from the Stars that I wasn't meant to lead."

She began to growl at Fleetheart. "But then _you_ pushed me. _You_ said I was like Longstar. I'm _nothing_ like him! I can't even save my own clan from dying."

Littlestar's breathing was quick and staggered. She hissed and moved closer to the medicine cat.

Fleetheart weakly tried to calm her. "Y-Your breathing is off. You need treatment. Just calm down so I can help you—"

"I don't need your help!" Littlestar raked her claws across Fleetheart's shoulder. She clenched her mouth shut and held back her painful shriek. She slowly got to her feet and glared straight into her leader's eyes.

"You need to stop this!" she shouted, fur blistering. "Don't blame your strength. Don't blame the Twoleg war. Don't turn claws on me. If you want something to blame, blame yourself! I didn't teach you how to lose fights. I didn't tell you to treat your clanmates like scum. _I_ didn't make _your_ choices!"

Littlestar's eyes shot wide open. She began to quiver at the words of her clanmate. She dipped her head. Fleetheart's fur dropped back to normal. She narrowed her eyes and looked away from Littlestar.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That… I-I've never thought that about you."

Littlestar continued to shake. Her fur patches ruffled up, and she let out a low growl. Her fangs bore. Her raspy breathing continued, uneven and rapid. The claws tapped the floor eagerly with her trembling paws.

"What did you say to me?" she whispered.

Fleetheart shook her head. "No, no, I didn't mean it like—"

"Then why did you say it?"

The medicine cat moved her head underneath Littlestar's, forcing her to look into her eyes.

"Listen to me. We've known each other since we were kits. From the very beginning, I knew you would be our leader someday. And I was ready to follow then. And I'm ready to follow now… you're the most important cat to me. You mean more to me than StarClan itself."

Littlestar tilted her head back to normal, looking Fleetheart right in her eyes.

"I want to hear what you have to say. And not as a leader, but as your friend. I want you to tell me what's happening to you. Why are you so angry? Why did you kill Mousetail? Whatever you might be facing, I'm at your side… I don't want to lose you. Littlestar, I—"

"I told you not to call me that!" Littlestar smashed her paw into Fleetheart's cheek. She tumbled to the floor, scraping it as she tried to shriek away from her angry leader.

"You said I should blame myself for all these problems!" She swiped Fleetheart across her side. She leaped into the air, but Littlestar pinned her tail to the ground.

"No, I didn't mean it," Fleetheart said. "Please believe—"

"You wouldn't have said it if you didn't want me to hear it. You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it!"

Littlestar shoved the medicine cat onto her back and pinned her. She slammed down on her face. Fleetheart tried to muffle through, but her mouth was forced shut. She stopped flailing and left her limbs still. Her long tail curled around Littlestar's.

Littlestar moved her paw up to let Fleetheart speak, covering her eyes instead. She struggled again, but quickly stopped. She let Littlestar drive her paw harder into her face.

"I am truly sorry for what I said to you, and nothing can take it back. Do whatever you need to do to me. I won't resist if it means you'll forgive me."

"Stop talking like that!" Littlestar slashed the medicine cat across her neck. Fleetheart held back her shriek; it was not too deep. Littlestar slammed her other paw onto her exposed chest.

Fleetheart coughed up some ash into Littlestar's face. She quickly cleared it and glared into her covered eyes.

"I still have faith in your leadership. Whatever anger you need to take out, do it."

"You're talking just like her!" she shouted back.

Littlestar removed her paw from Fleetheart's face and smacked her across her muzzle. And again across the same side with her claws. The smallest amount of blood began to show through her fur.

Fleetheart turned her head several times, moving with the blows and turning the opposite side of Littlestar's attacks. One of her fangs was knocked out. Her blood also began dripping to the floor. Small dots mixed with the stains already on the floor.

 _Why can't I stop,_ Littlestar thought, slamming another paw into her friend's face. _Why can't I stop? Littlescent, stop this. This shouldn't be enjoyable!_

"Are you… done yet?" Fleetheart's words were slurred. Her head was throbbing and her entire body was shaking. Littlestar's breathing was shallow and rapid. Her claws were raised far over her head. She hesitated, refusing to bring them down.

"Go easy… on yourself," Fleetheart said, her muzzle dropping to the side. "Your body… is not healthy."

"Stop talking like that," Littlestar demanded, lowering her paw. "Stop, please!"

She could feel her body shaking all over. Her tongue slumped out of the side of her mouth, and she broke out panting. Fleetheart lay on her side, struggling to keep her eyes open. The white fur on her face was covered in the wet mix of blood and ash. She was breathing deeply, but softly.

Littlestar buried her face in the medicine cat's neck. She could taste the blood that she had drawn. She buried her face in the wet fur around Fleetheart's neck.

"It hurt so much to hear you say that!" Littlestar screamed. "But I… you were right."

"Don't say that," Fleetheart said, wrapping a paw around her leader's collar. "You had… a lot on your mind… and I responded with anger… on a whim. You are still recovering… you are still sick."

"I am!" Her cries were muffled by Fleetheart's fur. "I feel so sick. So tired. But I shouldn't be. I should be stronger. My mind was stronger than this!"

 _But it's not. I'm not stronger than this. Fleetheart even said so. 'I didn't make your choices,' she said. It was all me… it was hard to hear her say those things. And I deserved every bit of it. And much more… but it's still making me angry. I'm still so irritated with her…_

Her mouth began to open. She felt her fangs slide against Fleetheart's fur, moving further apart.

 _No, why. Why am I doing this!?_

Her tongue caught the bitter taste of blood as it rested on Fleetheart's neck. She did not struggle.

"I'm… I'm so sorry," Fleetheart whimpered, shutting her eyes tight. "I don't want it to come to this… please don't kill me… I'm still your friend."

"You said I was weak," Littlestar muffled. "You made me want to kill you."

"You're just going through hard times. Let me help you—"

"And now…"

"Littlestar, no—"

Her jaws snapped shut. Fleetheart was limp at her paws.

Littlestar tried to move her jaw away. She struggled against its clamp around the medicine cat's neck. Only slowly, as if being pried open, would it relax.

 _What have I done?!_

Jaws still around the bite wound, she began licking Fleetheart's neck.

"Hey," she whispered. "Wake up… please don't let it be like this."

The medicine cat slowly aimed her eyes towards Littlestar. She stared blankly at her, blood trickling from her neck in a dark pool beneath Littlestar's front paws.

I'm sorry," she said weakly. "I'll never… never say anything like that again. Just please… don't kill me."

Littlestar's jaws finally opened. She moved her head away from Fleetheart's, her eyes wide. She stood motionless amides the mess at her paws.

 _I… I was so frustrated with her. I wanted to kill her. I tried to kill her… my missing fang. I missed the back of her neck. I missed because of a coincidence. I would've killed her. I would've killed my friend. My only kin left._

She began backing away from Fleetheart. Her head stayed on the ground, her breathing shallow as the blood pool grew slowly.

"Stay away," Littlestar said as she saw it move. "Stay away from me!"

"But I want to be near you." Fleetheart's words were practically a whisper. "We're still friends… right?"

Littlestar felt her head grow heavy. She kept panting, even faster. She scraped her claws along the ground as she felt the room grow hotter. They left a trail of red behind.

"I need to leave!"

Littlestar bolted from her spot and sprinted towards the entrance. She stretched her paw into the slit and threw it open. Fleetheart lay in full view of the cats outside. All of them sat or lay still, not noticing her before Littlestar pulled it shut again.

She turned and nearly ran into Whitestar, his pelt covered in specks of red, the white muddled with ash.

"Hold on there," he said. "Where are you off to in—"

"Just please let me go!" Littlestar shoved past the black and white cat and sprinted out the open front entrance. The ash outside stirred up like dust as the leader stomped through the clearing. She quickly disappeared amidst the grey haze that lingered.

Whitestar walked towards the entrance, and then glanced behind him. Some of the cats had backed away from the opening. Others were looking on. But most were still resting, slumped to one side, tails aimlessly flicking around.

One grey and brown-spotted she-cat rose from her position and limped over to Whitestar.

"What happened?" Christa asked.

Whitestar shook his head. "Judging from what I saw, nothing good. Go get Heavyclaw, please. Tell him Littlestar left camp alone, again."

Christa nodded and slowly moved towards the corner of the den where the grey-brown tom lay asleep. Whitestar padded towards the medicine den and pushed it open. Once he did, he leaped inside and shut it behind him.

"My Stars," he said, "what did she _do_ to you? Why you of all cats?!"

He moved to the back corner of the room, where dry leaves lay next to a Twoleg bundle of fake-fur, the remnants of his medical supplies.

Fleetheart lay motionless along the wall of the den.

"Please don't blame her," she whispered. "This was my fault. Please don't blame her."


	36. Chapter 35

The sky grew even darker, the dim reflections of the sun disappearing. The heat began to die down, along with the wind. The ash lay still on the ground, specks floating aimlessly in the air.

The white paw of a cat stirred it. A small cloud rose from the ground and into his face. The cat shook his fur, being careful not to disturb the ash again. He lightly stepped through the entrance and into the clearing.

A grey and brown cat jolted behind him, kicking up the ash once more.

"Whitestar, let me go with you," Christa said. "I need to tell her something important. Please?"

"No," the tom responded. "I know you are her littermate, but right now she needs to know that, no matter how stressed she is, her actions are unacceptable. I need to talk to her, leader-to-leader. I've already told Heavyclaw that he's in charge for the time being, and not to let anyone else out."

Christa's tail dropped to the ground as she moved further out of the entrance. "Please, Whitestar. I told her something terrible, and I can't forgive myself for it. It's hurting me just thinking about what I said to her… I don't care if she doesn't forgive me, or if she even wants to. But I just need to tell her I'm sorry. Please, let me go with you."

"You'll get a chance to talk to her when she gets back," he continued. "But I need to talk to her alone. Plus, that scratch on your paw could get you sick walking around out here. I know I treated it earlier, but keep it covered with one of those Twoleg wrap-things."

Christa opened her mouth to protest, but Whitestar was already walking away from the clearing.

He looked back at her. "We have only known each other for a short time. But you have never had a reason to distrust me before, right?"

"But you don't even know where she is," Christa protested.

"Actually, I know exactly where she is."

Whitestar coughed and shook his fur again, the large cloud of ash specs growing around the clearing. "There is a newly fallen sky-monster nearby. It is where Littlestar first went to get you and the other pets, by the Twoleg prayer-nest. If I have not returned by the time the sun has completely set, tell Heavyclaw and Blueclaw. They will send others after me."

She nodded her head and sulked back inside, closing the entrance behind her. It kicked up more ash specs. They had littered the air and blurred Whitestar's vision of the camp, even though he was still in the clearing.

"No way would any wildcat be near a destroyed monster." Whitestar spoke to himself. "Whatever prey was nearby would have been driven off by the crash, so it would not interest them… Someone has to put a stop to your self-destructive behavior, Littlestar. And it will first be me, then your friend, and then your littermate."

He took off running along the large thunderpath that separated the clan territories. The sky continued to lie still, but the heat persisted.

It destroyed everything in front of it when it went down. What was left of the sky-monster lay in the massive clearing.

The decorations and structures the Twolegs had built in the area were destroyed, including the stone Twoleg that stood in their prayer-nest. Without the light of nearby fires, the black ash and filth that covered everything would have made it impossible for her to see.

Littlestar was looking over what was left of that nest. The entire structure had caved in from the sky-monster's massive wings. One of them was missing. The other had destroyed another stone Twoleg in the back of the nest. The seating areas were nothing but ashes at her paws.

She leaped onto the wreck's broken off wing, staring straight at the side of the monster. In front of her was a different symbol. A blue circle surrounded a white one, with a red dot in the center. Littlestar's eyes were fixed on its scratched surface.

 _It's bigger than I expected it to be,_ she thought, peering into the clear barrier at the front.

It was completely smashed. She saw one figure, covered in their fake-fur. It was burned and dead, but Littlestar could not smell it. All she could scent was the ashes from the storm the night before.

 _This is where the true power lies. With the sky-monsters. That Twoleg all the others pray to didn't stop them. StarClan didn't stop them. They just keep coming. They keep coming and ruining everything._

A faint hum sounded overhead. Littlestar looked to the sky briefly, but she would never see it. It was low, but so were the smoke clouds

 _One of them is over me right now. One of those Achse ones… just one of them. How worthless. They can't even defend themselves anymore._

"I knew I would find you here." A light voice echoed through the destruction.

Littlestar did not turn to meet him, or even see where it came from. She only sat, staring at the Twoleg symbol on the side of the sky-monster, tapping at the trinket hanging from her collar.

"Go away," she responded. "Please just leave me alone. I can't bear to see anyone right now."

"Not until—"

"I said _go_!" Littlestar shouted, hissing as loud as she could before breaking into a coughing fit. "I command you leave me."

"You cannot command another chosen by the Stars."

His voice was closer. Littlestar could feel the cat's weight on the broken wing of the sky-monster as he leaped on, a cloud of ash rising against the windless sky.

"You said you would follow me," Littlestar spat. "That you would go under _my_ command."

The black and white tom slid closer to Littlestar, careful not to touch her tail. He began staring at her neck, eyeing the white wraps underneath the collar.

"We both hold the name Star. We are equals." Whitestar glanced at the mass of dried blood that had clumped at the bottom area of her collar. What was left of it was already soaked up by it and the wraps.

"You need to get the back of your neck rewrapped," he said. "You were bleeding for a while, long enough to ruin them. They're all that is left seeing as I no longer have any usable herbs."

"That's not my blood," Littlestar whispered. "It's the blood of every cat I've tried to kill. Pineheart, Mousetail, Flyfoot… and Fleetheart. It's their blood. All mixed together. To remind me of all the pain I've caused my clanmates. To those who have only tried to help. And those I think of as kin."

"It is mostly your own blood," Whitestar said as he moved closer, now just a claw's length apart. His tail rested on hers, but she did not act, only sitting and staring straight ahead at the Twoleg symbol.

Whitestar decided to stare at it, too. "So they are the Twoleg attackers. The ones who Panzer spoke of, the _Achse's_ enemies. It is because of them my cats have problems sleeping. Why the pets would panic every time that Twoleg siren went off. Even in death, its symbol remains, reminding all who pass just who did this to them."

"No, not them," Littlestar whispered. "Not entirely them."

She sulked deeper in her position. The only sound that could be heard was the crackle of distant fires and the hum of the sky-monster overhead. The rest was silent.

"It is true. StarClan has been powerless against them," Whitestar responded. "But even if they sent a cat down from Silverpelt, I doubt it would have been able to bring a monster like this to its death."

He continued to examine the monster. Most of its colors had faded in the fires that likely burned on its crash. He could only make out the colors on the body. The top was covered in brown and green splotches, and the bottom was deep black. Next to the round symbol they stared at were more red markings, but they were indiscernible.

The sides were riddled with holes of all sizes. Some too small to see, others big enough to fit a Twoleg through. One of the holes went right through the body. He could see what was left of all of the strange tools used to control it. But he could only find the remains of the operators in the front of it, like Littlestar had found.

They kept sitting in silence. Littlestar finally moved her head up and back at the symbol. Then towards Whitestar. He looked back at her, relaxing his face as much as he could against the bitter stench of the air. Littlestar stared into his bright, yellow eyes.

"You know what I think," she said. "I think you should go away. And take your cats with you. Go be safe and happy away from this place. After all, this isn't your war. It's not even your clan – your territory – that you're fighting for."

He shook his head. "I made a promise to you. Even if we are wanderers with no territory, this Twolegplace is just as much our home as it is yours… unless you leave, I will not leave. Not until we beat LeafClan."

Littlestar pulled her head away and back towards the Twoleg symbol. "Do you think we can even beat LeafClan?"

Whitestar did not look away from the grey she-cat. He could see the doubt on her face.

"We will fight until the end, Littlestar. And I will be there beside you when the time comes to confront Horseleaf. His worst offense is turning his back on our ancestors. StarClan will make him pay, somehow."

She was silent, staring straight ahead. Whitestar turned away, examining the sky-monster further. They sat in silence for a few more moments, taking in their quiet surroundings.

Littlestar flopped down on the wing below her paws, scratching at the rough surface as she did. Her tail curled around her. She rested her head directly in the ash.

"I almost killed Fleetheart," she whispered. "I almost killed the most important cat to me… only a weak cat would lose so much control of themselves like that."

Whitestar shook his head, resting his tail on Littlestar's coiled body. "You just need some help. Someone to take the pressure—"

"Do me a favor," she interrupted. "I want you to go back to camp. And I want you to lead them. I want you to tell them I ran away from it all, like Yellowstar. That I couldn't handle the death anymore. They'll believe you. I want you to tell—"

"You can tell her that yourself," Whitestar responded. "No one can replace you."

Littlestar ignored him. "And I want you to tell Fleetheart that I am exactly what she thought of me. And that as punishment for what I did to her and Mousetail I will wander with my story, the clan's story, like those many moons before this place existed. It will consume me. Then my body will consume me. Then the Place of No Stars will consume me. And I will cease to exist…"

Whitestar nudged the leader. She did not push against him or resist, but did not try to move, either.

"She could not afford to lose you, especially now… deep down she sees it, too. Just as I do. You are the only one of them fit to lead like Bonbon. To command her respect and her temperance. That is why Longstar and Yellowstar held so much faith in you. That is why Fleetheart and I respect you so much. You are how we all want to lead."

Littlestar continued to sit, her head remained still. Whitestar stopped nudging her and rested his paw on her back.

"If you will not come back for Bonbon's legacy, or the war, then do it for Fleetheart. And me. And Christa. And all the cats who are still alive with you. Who are worried about you."

The fires nearby began to glow brighter. Whitestar looked around; the last bit of sunlight had gone away. Only by the light of the fires could the pair be seen.

"If you do not leave, then Christa will come looking for you. I told them to do so if I did not return by the time the sun disappeared… I do not like this place at night. Especially with all that has happened recently. For the sake of her safety, will you please come back?"

Littlestar uncurled her head and looked straight at the round Twoleg symbol. Her tail began to slowly wave across the rough surface of the sky-monster's wing.

 _I can't have that. No one else should leave but me. No one else should be getting hurt anymore._

She stood from her spot, not even bothering to shake the mess from her fur. Her legs wobbled and her tail sagged. Her head hung below her shoulders.

"You must be thirsty," Whitestar said, eagerly hopping to his feet. "Let's get you back to camp so you can get something—"

Littlestar scrambled for cover. The sudden pop made her leap behind a part of the wing. She crouched low, waiting. The echo of the sharp ping rang in her ears and all around her. Only until it completely died down did she poke her head above her hiding spot.

Her ears immediately shrieked to her head. Her eyes were wide. Her fur was at its sharpest. She rested her paw on the limp cat before her, nudging him.

"Whitestar?"

She was speechless. His black and white lay still across his body.

"Whitestar, what's wrong? Whitestar—"

Only then did she see it. Tilting over his head, she saw his yellow eyes. Half closed and bulging out, staring right back at her. His blood began to leak onto her paw. And under him, a mass of clear fluid began to pool. Parts of his head were inside, and Littlestar immediately set him back down.

 _But… but… where did it come from?_

She frantically looked around. She looked for a Twoleg. She found no one. They were all alone in the remains of the prayer-nest. Littlestar swerved her head back towards the sky-monster, her paw not daring to leave Whitestar's fur.

Inside the massive hole on its side, she saw it. She stared straight into a thunderstick. The deep scratches and broken ends told her all she needed to know.

 _No one was there,_ she thought, caressing Whitestar's face. _No Twoleg was there to even use it… it just fell and went off and killed him. StarClan… the sky-monster killed him. The dead sky-monster killed him!_

Littlestar buried her face into Whitestar's fur. His blood soaked into her paw pads as her belly threatened to loosen itself.

 _He didn't even have a chance. He didn't even have a chance!_

Her paws began to shake. Littlestar felt heat well up inside her. She could not keep her fangs in her mouth. Turning away from the dead cat, she faced the Twoleg symbol, letting loose a torrent of hisses and snarls before leaping towards it.

 _This is all your fault!_

She slammed into the side of the sky-monster, loosening the ash that piled onto it. It all tumbled down to the charred ground, Littlestar with it. She got up and kicked it off, letting her claws loose on the surface before her.

 _This is all your fault! The whole time. Not StarClans, yours! You help them take my friends, my leader! And then you take him from me. Why?_

Her claws ached and bent, she kept slashing at the Twoleg symbol. It stayed, the colors barely visible amidst the darkness.

 _StarClan is powerless against you! They are powerless to do_ anything _about you. Why can't you just go back to where you come from? LeafClan, the inferno, Longstar, none of it would've ever happened if this stupid Twoleg war didn't exist!_

She leaped up and slashed as high as she could.

 _You come from far away, right? Then why are you here? Why are you attacking these Twolegs?_

She leaped and clawed at it with her hind legs. They began to ache against the tough, once-shiny material of its body.

 _Why did you take my friend? He did nothing to you. I've done nothing to you! Why did you make this place like this?_

She sprinted over to the wing, leaping and clawing her way back to Whitestar's body. She turned and hissed at the symbol.

"Answer me! Why do you torment us? What do you want with us?"

She sunk down into his fur, heaving and shaking all over.

"Answer me," she whispered. "Why. Please, why?"

Her whole face was buried into his neck. Her body kept growing hotter. She felt her eyes grow heavier. Her shaking was replaced by the bliss of exhaustion. It creeped all over her sore body.

 _Why you, Whitestar… why not me?_

His blood trickled below her chin. She did not move.

 _No more, no more. No more of my friend's blood on it. The trinket was for my enemies' blood, not theirs._

She felt her mind drift away from her.

 _You don't care whose blood. Only that you get it. Isn't that right, Twolegs? Isn't that right, StarClan… that's why you took him from me?_

Her mind wandered away. She rested amid the darkness in the limp body of her clanmate.

 _AchseClan… my clan of blood._


	37. Chapter 36

"So it was a thunderstick?"

Burn was scratching his bald spots, barely visible in the darkness of the camp.

"Yes," responded a soft voice, Fleetheart. "She hasn't said anything since waking up. But that's what the wound shows. No doubt it went off on its own. He just happened to be in the way."

She looked away from the tom. Her neck was wrapped completely with the white wraps. She held one of her front paws off the floor, also wrapped. The rest of her body was covered in light scratches, freshly washed.

"Fleetheart?" he asked.

She looked back into the tom's squinted eyes and moved closer to him. "How much prey has your group found recently?"

"None," Burn responded. "And that was _before_ Littlestar ordered us not to leave… honestly things aren't looking good for us."

They spoke just outside of the leader's den. Littlestar lay in the middle of the floor. Her ears perked up after hearing Burn speak.

"We've run out of prey here, and there's not even so much as a rat or a crow scavenging the dead out there. There's just nothing. But that's not all. Those wildcats have this place surrounded, I know it. Their hunter-killers or whatever you call them are all over. Leaving camp is suicide at this point."

"Do you think they'll attack again?" she said.

"Of course they will," he whispered. "They'll raid us for supplies if nothing else. Nothing could possibly grow here, and going back to the outside forest is too far for just herbs. No, they'll come here. And when they do, they'll kill us all. Their reinforcements got trapped in an ash storm last time. We can't rely on something like that again."

Fleetheart shook her head. "Have you run this by Heavyclaw?"

"Well I _had_ to. Three more of my cats deserted while Littlestar was gone. And what's left of the clan cats are grieving over Whitestar's death. As if they weren't sad enough already."

Fleetheart's head dropped low. Her muscles were relaxed. The long, wavy tail that normally curled and bounced idly slowly dragged along the ash-coated floor.

"Will you _please_ let me talk to her?" Burn asked. "She needs to know these things—"

"No," Fleetheart snapped. She quickly looked around to see if anyone else was listening. "No. I'm not even letting Heavyclaw in here… Littlestar is sick. We found her unconscious on Whitestar's body. And now I've figured it out."

She looked around again for other cats. "Do _not_ tell any other cat this, got it?"

Burn nodded his head. "You've trusted this 'rouge' this far, haven't you?"

Fleetheart glanced around the corners of the long hallway before speaking once more.

"Littlestar's very sick. She's been pushing her body too hard, and she keeps overheating. Her inability to keep herself cool is showing now, especially since it's hot everywhere, all the time. It likely explains her slowness in battle and the fainting. Her body's trying to make her stop, but she doesn't and now I'm… not confident in her future."

"Is Littlestar going to die?" Burn asked.

Fleetheart held back her claws and a hiss, instead baring her fangs and growling at the tom.

"Please… just go tell Heavyclaw and Blueclaw to gather every bit of information we can get on our numbers. The injured cats will be fine for now. Come get me if anything happens."

Burn opened his mouth in protest, but soon got the hint. He slowly began padding down the hallway.

"Should start calling her Bluestar now, I guess," Burn mumbled before disappearing down the steps to the lower floor.

Fleetheart turned and limped into the leader's den. Littlestar was still lying in the middle of the floor. One of the Twoleg objects in the room was filled with dirty water. She had not even looked at it, nor did she acknowledge the injured medicine cat who curled up next to her.

"When am I going to die?" Littlestar whispered, her voice raspy and thin.

"Don't talk like that!" Fleetheart snapped. "Don't ever say that again. Just… just lie here and rest."

Fleetheart wrapped her neck close to Littlestar's collar. She moved her body closer and slowed her breathing.

"Please stay here with me. Just for a little while." Fleetheart closed her eyes.

 _I'm sorry, Fleetheart_ , Littlestar thought. _I'm so, so sorry… and I can't even tell you. I just want to scream it to you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_

Littlestar opened her mouth, but Fleetheart moved her head on top of her own, forcing it closed.

"Don't speak, just rest," she whispered as she pulled even closer. "Just rest from all this. Just for a little while."

Littlestar's breathing grew a little slower. She forced her eyes shut again, unable to look at the injured medicine cat.

 _You don't know how I feel about this, Fleetheart. Yet I believe you do, in your own way… I want you to stop believing in me. I want you, so bad, to forget about me._

She shifted her tail into a more comfortable position around her exposed paw pads. Her mouth lay open, panting, taking in as much as she could. But the air was hot. She felt her whole body ache and stiffen. She could not even move her own head without pain in her chest.

The scratches on her belly began to tingle again. She shifted to try and stop them, but the pain quickly stopped her. Sliding as close as she could, she let Fleetheart's soft fur envelop her. But the wraps scratched at her bald patches. She ignored them.

 _I… I did that to you, Fleetheart. I gave you those wounds those… bite mikes. Those kill marks. Can't you see why I want you to forget me? Look what your friend did to you. An uncontrolled fit of weakness and rage would have killed you… I love you like my own kin, and I was about to kill you because you spoke the truth._

 _My true kin hates me. The only living kin I have hates me. I bet Fleetheart hates me, too. She's just doing this because she's… no. Stop making excuses, Littlescent. She loves you. And you almost killed her._

Her stomach began to curl. Littlestar felt each excruciating breath through her mouth grow slightly hotter. Blood began to drip from her nose, running down the large scratch that ran across it. Each drop almost made her shutter, but she let it fall.

 _It's happening again. The same feeling I had in LeafClan's camp. I'm overheated again. But why? Why was I like that at LeafClan's camp? The sun was not completely blocked like it is now. The heat wasn't trapped. Why was I so hot...? I guess it doesn't matter anyway._

 _So, so weak. And what do I get for lying here, dying and bleeding? Pity from Fleetheart. Clanmates who desert and lose hope. In the war. In this place. In me… especially in me. After all, I led half their mates, kin, and friends to death by a brutal number of things. Who knows how many cats would have survived if I had not started this war?_

 _And my decisions… Fleetheart said she was not in control of my choices. She's right. Every order I've given, every time I've tried to help, something goes wrong. And if I had decided differently, things would have turned out differently, would have turned out better. Even better if I had never been deciding in the first place._

 _Leadership is no place for me. No matter what I might have thought as a kit._

She tried to shift around, but remembered the cat lying by her. Fleetheart was asleep, breathing calmly against Littlestar's broken and raspy breaths. She went back to laying still and trying to cool herself.

 _Leadership is for cats who don't have problems like mine. My clanmates are out there right now, lying around just like me. Waiting to be rallied again. They need a leader and here I am, stuck in my den, unable to even stand. Unable to help them when they need a leader the most…_

 _I wonder how Heavyclaw is. And Blueclaw. They might've have made much better leaders than me. Longstar was wrong. The clan needs a fighter, not someone like him._

She tried to look towards the roof above her, but just gave it a glance instead.

 _No, no. that was wrong. Forgive me, Longstar. You were an amazing leader. Without you, I probably would have been left while my kin moved on without me, without the weak runt to slow them down. You gave me a chance and I'm eternally grateful._

 _You said my best trait was sympathy, especially towards the wildcats. And so did Fleetheart. Longstar, I've long lost that trait. I no longer feel their pain. All I feel is the pain they have inflicted on us. The pain the sky-monsters have inflicted on us. No more sympathy… I think this is what Bonbon felt like when the wildcats first attacked her group. Watching them kill untrained pets must have been hard for her._

 _I wonder. Did Bonbon have sympathy for the wildcats then? When they killed her friends? Did she have sympathy for them when she dropped thundersticks and mounted them on fake-claws?_

 _Or did she only have sympathy after both sides lay broken, grief and pain overtaking their desire to fight. Did she sympathize with them when they were forced to sign the Pact for everyone's survival? Sympathy for Wolfstar, the only wildcat she ever knew? Just like me to Horseleaf… did you, Bonbon? Did you feel for them?_

She felt her collar rustle. Fleetheart was flinching in her sleep. Her tail would twitch around, and every once in a while she would let out a low growl. Her eyes clenched tighter shut as Littlestar watched.

 _She's dreaming about… about what? Is she getting visions from StarClan? If so, they can't be good. But I doubt that._

She nuzzled the sleeping medicine cat, who continued to stir.

 _It's okay Fleetheart. Rest easy and… no. It's not okay. It's not okay what's happening, or whatever you're dreaming about. Maybe about the sky-monster attacks? The LeafClan attack that took Panzer from you? The dying cats that covered your medicine den in blood?_

 _The terrible fires, the hot nights and days, or maybe the thunderpaths. They melted in some places. Or the structures that have caved in. Or the bones of countless Twolegs that lay underneath them?_

She began to wince, as if she was being hit. Each time was in a different spot. Littlestar quickly looked away.

 _Or are you dreaming about me?_

 _About how much I've changed, how much I've shrunken from the cat I used to be. About the cat that screamed at you and pushed everyone away… the cat, the friend, that almost killed you? That would have killed you if not for a fluke._

 _Fleetheart, I have never taken your opinion into consideration on all this. I've only been going on about me and my problems that, this whole time, you were alone in it. Staying strong for the clan, and for me. Staying strong when I beat you. You just wanted to be safe. And all that needed was me. The Littlescent you grew up with, not the Littlestar we dreamed about as kits._

 _Fleetheart, you are the most important cat in my life. I don't think I could go on living without you here to keep me stable. But I'm past that point, Fleetheart. I'm not stable anymore. I'm not happy seeing everything the way it is… I don't think I have the will to stay alive anymore, Fleetheart. I don't want to live knowing I cause you pain._

 _Crista, Burn, Longstar, Panzer, Mousetail, Yellowstar, Whitestar, Fleetheart, forgive me. Forgive me for causing all this. Each and every one of you was in pain because of me. I beg for your forgiveness in StarClan, and I beg at the paws of those who are still alive. Forgive me…_

 _Maybe I really am seeking pity. But it's sad I can't even think of myself as Littlestar. I keep telling myself I'm Littlescent, but I'm not that, either. You have no idea how much I want to tell each and every one of you sorry. How much more pain it would cause you, so I won't. All I ask is that you go on living and being happy._

 _Whether you loved me or not, just live. And live well._

She moved her head up to Fleetheart's ear, ignoring the white dots that quickly clouded her vision.

"I'm sorry, Fleetheart," she whispered. "Wherever I'm destined to end up, I'll always love you, and I'll never forget you."

She thumped back down to the floor. Littlestar felt Fleetheart fall still. Her tail slowly began to curl around Littlestar's flank.

Finally, she felt her breathing slow. Her eyes grew heavy, but she did not struggle to keep them open. She draped her tail over Fleetheart's body and moved closer to her. And she was quickly asleep against her soft purrs.

 _Littlestar._

 _…_

 _Littlestar._

The voice's calls grew stronger.

 _Littlestar… help us_.

Fire erupted around her. Littlestar stood in the center as it closed on her. She felt her lungs seize with ash. The ground beneath her was hot and rough. She began to pant, ignoring the foul scents and tainted air.

 _Littlestar, help us!_

The voices grew louder.

A large, collapsed Twoleg nest appeared in front of her. She was pulled closer to it.

 _Help us. You're so close, please!_

Several paws reached out of the mess. The structure suddenly caught fire. They pressed their muzzles against their cage. Littlestar was thrown at them, landing close enough for them to reach her. They clawed and scratched at her fur, pressing their faces even closer.

Littlestar looked into the faces. Each cat was missing their eyes and ears. Their mouths hung wide open, begging to her as they pulled at her fur.

 _Please, get us out of here!_

Littlestar jumped away from them. The fire reached the inside of their trapping. She watched their fur quickly catch.

As the fire drew closer, and the cats pleas became screams, she did nothing.

 _It burns, Littlestar! Help us!_

Littlestar looked right into their hollow faces and watched. She did not budge as everything closed in on her. She did not even curl her nose at the fowl stench of burning flesh. Their blood quickly pooled at her feet. She let it wash over her paws.

 _What are you doing?_ They begged. _Don't just stand there, help us!_

She watched them burn. More paws shot through the Twoleg nest and towards her, claws extended. The heat of the fires was suffocating. It closed further in on her. The ground was even hotter. But Littlestar did not flinch.

 _You let… us die._

The paws stopped moving. Each of them fell limp from their places. As the fires closed in, the Twoleg nest disappeared.

 _You let us die, Littlestar._

 _Yes… yes I did_.

Littlestar moved towards the burning cats. They began to snarl at her.

 _You let us die!_

 _I know._

 _You are why we are in so much pain!_

One of the cats charged Littlestar. She buried her face under her paws, but nothing hit her. The shadowed cats, one by one, moved right through her, each making its own attack.

There was only one left, a tall, lean cat. It was covered in burns, no fur to be seen. It was missing one of its legs and its tail, but it slowly limped towards Littlestar. What was left of it still sent heat and fire in all directions.

The fires around her disappeared, as did the chocking smoke and ash. Littlestar could hear each paw step from the injured cat as it limped right in front of her. She looked into its empty eyes, studying its face, only able to make out what it might have been.

 _You let me die back there, Littlescent_ , the voice whispered.

 _I know. I know and it was wrong to try and move you. You might have been able to find your own way without our clan's help… you did not deserve to die. Not like that._

Clear fluids began leaking from her eye sockets. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, all teeth missing, bleeding profusely. Littlestar let the blood wash over her.

 _You let me die back there, Littlescent. Don't you ever forget that._

 _You're right. My actions helped lead to the deaths of so many. Even now, more are suffering because of that. But I swear to you I will do right. I will make this nightmare end. It won't bring you back, but it will be my punishment._

Littlestar nuzzled the cheek of the bleeding cat. It closed its mouth and nuzzled back, rubbing charred skin and cold fluids over her face. The sensation made her squirm, but she forced herself to the dead cat, refusing to move away.

 _This will end soon. I'm tired, and so are you. Soon, we can rest. And you can say and do whatever you want to me to make up for what I've done for you… whether you're from the Place of No Stars or StarClan you will have your revenge._

The cat stopped rubbing against her cheek. The fires from her body moved up to her face and caught Littlestar's. She winced, but soon let the flames engulf her.

 _You are doomed, Littlestar._

 _I know. And I'm prepared. But what matters is that I understand. I understand everything now… what needs to be done…_

She watched the last tuffs of her fur sail to the ground in puffs of ashes. Her skin turned black as the two cats continued their embrace in the warm fires.

 _Soon, it will finally be over._


	38. Chapter 37

The darkness had engulfed every part of the camp. It was even hard for the cats to see where they were going. But not many of them were moving.

The heat of the smoke cloud had become unbearable. Most cats did not even leave camp to make dirt. Most had not eaten since they last left camp, two nights ago.

Three of them lay on the steps. Their fur was coated in ash and blood, unable to go to wash themselves of the stench. They did not sleep, they did not move. They just sat, defeated, waiting. Their tails did not so much as twitch.

A brown cat, covered in dirty, light splotches of furless skin, was walking around the group of cats. He had been pacing most of his time, unwilling to leave camp. Burn watched one of his cats splayed out on the sticky floor, covered in Twoleg wraps, as she dreamed. Her legs were kicking, her claws were extended. She growled several times, swiping lightly at nothing but the ash around her.

He shook his head and kept moving, almost bumping into another sleeping cat. He looked down into her eyes. They were open, but like stone. The blue was gone from them.

He nudged her shoulder. She did not move.

He rubbed his muzzle against hers. She still did not respond. He put his paw to her belly. After several heartbeats he let go, burying his face into her cold pelt and cursing softly, collapsing against her.

A black and white she-cat looked on from the medicine den. She saw Burn's face briefly leave the body, nudging it again and again before he buried it into her again. She tore herself from the scene and walked back into the medicine den.

Empty.

Twoleg supplies lay all over the floor. The floor itself had a distinct reddish hue to it; to her dismay it was even visible in the darkness. She walked out slowly, her paws sticking as they moved.

Outside, the rest of the clan was gathered. Each lay apart from each other. Aside from the cat Burn was with, the rest were breathing easy. Her tail dragged across the ground as she made her runs.

She leaped onto the ledge onlooking the thunderpath that separated the clans. No movement. From anything. Not even the breeze would wisp the ash into the air for her. She jumped down from the ledge and moved towards the steps. The two cats slid aside to give her room, not even looking to acknowledge her. She did not walk up the steps, though.

She looked out the hole just in front of the steps. No movement, once more. Only the charred remains of a structure that had caught the night before splayed all over the clearing. Those around it continued their slow destruction, creaking and snapping every once and a while.

Moving on to the entrance, which was wide open, she stepped out into the clearing. She kept moving until she was in the center. She looked up and around. No movement.

Before she turned back towards camp, she looked at the thick ash, acting like a soft plant to her steps. Imbedded just a tail-length away were paw prints. Illuminated by the light of the fire, she walked closer to them.

They were rough outlines, as if the cat was running. She thought about it only briefly before nearly falling at the outlines. She bowed her head as low as she could without destroying them. Her paws were shaking as she remembered who made the paw prints.

They matched the same size and shape as Whitestar's pads. She could not speak, and ignored the foul soot that she nearly breathed in.

The medicine cat began to mumble to herself, moving her paw right next to the print. Her claws extended at the sight of the two near each other. She let out a low pitched growl, scraping into the soft layer of ash.

"Everyone, please gather!"

Her head perked back up at the voice. She knew who it was.

"I have something important to say."

It came from inside camp. She quickly darted back towards the entrance, taking one last glance at the paw trail, left preserved in the ash.

Going through the entrance, she saw most of the cats gathered around the corner of the camp near the steps. Her collared grey and brown leader sat in the center. Her sickly fur was dropping to the floor; most of her body was already furless. Some of her fangs were missing, and her ear was torn. Her belly was still covered in dirty Twoleg wraps. The ones under her collar were stained and crusted red.

Littlestar was almost unrecognizable to her. At this, Fleetheart's ears dropped and a lump formed in her chest. But she held it back and sat at the front of the group, near Heavyclaw and Christa, both of who were lying on the floor like the others. Tired and quiet.

Littlestar nodded her head at Fleetheart's appearance.

"Please, listen up," she started. "This is very important… and I need each and every one of you to help me get through it. I promise it will not be hard for you."

She cleared her throat, couching out a thin wisp of soot. A few drops of blood fell from her nose. She waved Fleetheart away before she could help.

"There's… there's no easy way to say this. AchseClan will not survive the way it is now… we're through."

The cats looked up at each other, murmuring amongst themselves.

"What do you mean, 'we're through'?" Christa whispered.

Littlestar took her eyes away from the rest of the cats, dropping her head and ears low. "I mean as of this night… we are no longer AchseClan."

"What?" Heavyclaw cried.

She shook her head. "I want you to… I want you to leave camp and head for the Twoleg's snake-monsters. They will take you out of this place, to somewhere safer—"

"Littlestar—"

"I don't want to hear it, Heavyclaw!" she shouted back. "I'm not giving you a choice in this matter. As of now, we aren't a clan. I'm not leading these cats. You are."

Heavyclaw's paws began to shake. He continued to shake his head as he jumped up from his spot and stared down at the small, collared leader.

"You would just _destroy_ everything Bonbon and Longstar worked towards? Everything that they created? All the fights they fought? The blood spilt—"

" _Shut your mouth!_ " Littlestar screamed as close as she could to his face. The large, grey-brown tom took a few steps back, his eyes wide, paws still shaking.

"Look at you," she continued shouting. "You can barely stand! And thanks to that last battle neither can the rest of our clan, which I can now count on one cat's claws. We can't keep this up. Just look at your clanmates."

Heavyclaw dropped back on his flanks, staring into Littlestar's angry, green eyes.

" _Look_ at them, Heavyclaw!"

He quickly turned around, and his paws stopped shaking. The rest of the cats were still shaking. They were covered in ash, their paws and muzzles blackened by it. Some of the cats were missing ears, parts of their tails, tuffs of fur. Each had injuries to show.

Blueclaw looked into his eyes. Hers were nearly closed, her head constantly dipping towards the floor. Her blue-tinged fur was stained completely black with a few spots of red. Her neck was also wrapped in the Twoleg fake-fur.

Wolfgang and Shortfang sat close to each other. He nuzzled her, and she motioned back. She lifted her head as high as she could, her missing right ear covered in the dirty bandages that he was accustomed to.

"We're with you," she said in a raspy voice.

He caught the sight of a very tall, lean black cat sitting behind the others. Next to him, a stout, grey cat lay. Karl nodded his head, but Flaum was asleep. Blueclaw was sitting directly in front of the two. Karl tapped the back of Blueclaw's shoulder. She quickly glanced back at the two cats, and then back towards Littlestar.

"They are all that is left of us," she whispered, eyes half closed. "These two and Christa. It makes me the last clan-born of what was once BreezeClan."

Heavyclaw's eyes moved towards Burn. He constantly stared back at the cat he had embraced. Heavyclaw looked over both of them.

"She just died a few moments ago," Burn whispered. "She… she was the last of us, aside from another tom who's now injured… I've just led half my group to early deaths."

He looked up at him, brushing his pelt as he walked past him and towards Littlestar.

"They're all dead. All but me and another are gone, Littlestar. I told them… I promised them food when this was all over. I _promised_ them they would see the wildcat's surrender, an end to their harassment. And they're dead… you understand, right? You can understand this?"

She nodded her head.

Burn looked back towards the dead she-cat, away from the group. "Then I'm with whatever you decide. But please, don't ask me to send him into battle. Please let me send him away."

Littlestar nodded her head again, resting her tail on his shoulder.

"You won't have to go into battle again, either," she said. "Not you, not anyone standing here."

Fleetheart and Crista stood and moved right into Littlestar's face. Christa had no patch on her paw, showing a wet, inflated black mass that had been freshly licked.

"You can't be serious about this," Christa said. "We aren't just leaving, are we?"

She waited. Littlestar did not respond. She forced herself away from her bright, orange eyes, trembling as she did.

Fleetheart moved her paw towards her leader's face, but was quickly swatted away. The black and white cat moved her head closer towards Littlestar's, but she moved away again.

"Littlestar—"

"Fleetheart, please—"

"No, don't do this to me. Let me—"

"Stop it, Fleetheart!" she snarled. "Just… just stop it. Just for right now, okay? We will talk later."

She opened her mouth to speak, but Littlestar quickly covered it with her paw.

"Please, Fleetheart," she whispered. "Let me finish. I promise we can talk all you want after that."

As she moved her paw away, Fleetheart and Christa backed up. Heavyclaw was still facing towards his clanmates and them to him, saying nothing.

Littlestar stood and tapped him on the back. He quickly turned towards her, and she nestled her head into his broad chest.

"I want you to take care of them," she said. "I want you to take them somewhere safe. Away from all of this smoke and fire and blood, like I said. I'm not the leader anymore. You are. And as my last command I order you to take these cats and lead them somewhere safe. I don't want to hear you argue. I just want to see you do it."

Heavyclaw did not return Littlestar's gesture. He did not say anything, or make a sound. The rest of the clan watched, holding the same expressions they did before the meeting started. Fleetheart was glancing at them, her ears falling lower each time she glanced over a new one.

Heavyclaw tried to back away, but Littlestar pushed closer.

"Heavyclaw, if you won't do this for the leader of StoneClan then do it for me. You trusted me to take command over you. You believed in what I wanted to accomplish… well it's over now. And I am just trying to make the best decision for those of us who are left… please, just do this."

The large deputy kept his silence. Littlestar moved her face away from him and reared up on her hind paws, resting her front paws on Heavyclaw's shoulders. He staggered, but grasped the extra weight. She was at his eye level.

"Don't fight me on this. It's not about me, it's about them. Their safety. Just… just trust me. As a friend. As someone who you think always has the clan's best interests in mind. I promise you, I will be with you. Just get out of here. And do it now."

Littlestar slipped and fell off his shoulders. Fleetheart kept her from dropping to the floor. She was breathing quickly, pawing at the dirty wraps under her collar.

"I just have to talk to Longstar before I go," she whispered. "And I only want one cat with me… just one quick trip to the burial-place, and then I'll join you. The next snake-monster will stop nearby a little after sunhigh. I promise I will be there with you. But you must get them there before anything else happens. Heavyclaw, I beg you, please just do this, and say no—"

"Okay," Heavyclaw said weakly. "If you believe it's for the best, I'll do it. No more questions."

Fleetheart helped her leader to her feet, and Littlestar gave a weak purr towards her deputy.

"I trust you, Littlestar," he said. "You _will_ be with us?"

She nodded her head at him, and glanced over the rest of her clanmates. They seemed to not react to it at all. They returned with stares into her dull, green eyes.

She looked towards Blueclaw with Karl, Flaum, and Crista around her.

"I know what you are thinking," Blueclaw said, "and the answer is no. No sub-leaders, no training, no Bluestar. BreezeClan is gone. We are but four cats with no place to go, no cat to teach the words of StarClan to… no responses from StarClan. Besides, neither Yellowstar nor Whitestar would approve a leader of BreezeClan with such poor knowledge of medicine."

Littlestar nodded at her. "Follow Heavyclaw, please. For your safety."

Blueclaw returned a nod. Littlestar then turned her gaze to Burn. His ears were low, and as soon as she looked into his bright, yellow eyes he looked away.

"Burn, I know exactly how you feel. Exactly how you feel… whatever you believe happened, do not make the mistakes I did. And I'm glad for your loyalty. I just wish I had something to thank you with."

He looked back at the dead she-cat away from the group. Littlestar let him, and turned herself towards Wolfgang and Shortfang. Both were sitting, his head now resting on top of hers.

"You two are close?" Littlestar asked.

"I don't know what I'd do without her," Wolfgang responded. "I still regret that I couldn't teach her how to defeat you in battle—"

"What?" she said. "I bet I still… no. This isn't the time for —"

"No," Littlestar said. "Your energy amidst the darkness is good for those around you. Never lose it."

She limped closer to her, wrapping her neck around Shortfang's. She moved her paw further back and touched Wolfgang's paw.

"I'm glad I took a chance on you, Shortfang. You've really become quite social since you were promoted. And I'm glad to see you and Wolfgang happy together… stay strong, you two. Both of you will see to it that Heavyclaw is protected. Understand?"

"Understood," Shortfang said.

Wolfgang nodded his head. Littlestar released Shortfang from her embrace, and she moved back into the warmth of Wolfgang's chest. She gave a quick lick underneath his chin, and he nuzzled his head closer to hers.

Littlestar turned back to face the rest of the group, standing as tall as she could.

"As of this point, I am no longer the leader of AchseClan… and we have unofficially surrendered to the wildcats. They will come back here only to find an empty camp… Heavyclaw I want you to take the last of the supplies, but leave the dangerous medicine here. Christa and Blueclaw both have basic medical knowledge. I want Fleetheart to accompany me to the burial-place. Everyone else, to the place the snake-monsters stop. Burn knows the way."

The cats nodded their heads.

"I'm sorry to every single cat here. Whatever you feel you want to do to me before I leave, please do. I deserve every hiss, every slap, every scratch you might be thinking… so come forward—"

"No one wants to hit you, Littlestar," Fleetheart said. "We are clan cats. Those of us who are left just want to be safe, like you said."

She pondered her words for a moment, and nodded her head. "Yes, just as I said… now get going… and again, I am sorry for what has happened here."

The cats stood from their places. Blueclaw darted up the steps, and Heavyclaw left for the medicine den. The rest of the cats moved around to their areas, looking around for anything they could take with them. Littlestar winced each time a paw pad tore itself from the sticky floor.

 _I will not miss all this blood,_ she thought.

Fleetheart stood near her, her tail sliding across the floor. "Are you sure—"

"Yes, I'm sure," Littlestar interrupted. "It's for the clan… I want you to take the dangerous Twoleg medicine with you. And tell me when the others have gone. I'll be waiting in the leader's nest if you need me."

With that, Littlestar fumbled through the dark camp and towards the steps to the second floor. Fleetheart watched her move up and then ran to the medicine den.

"Heavyclaw," she shouted. "I need your help before you leave."

The dry wood chipped to the floor as a cat's claws ran across it twice.

"You can come in whenever you want." Littlestar said. She was trying to brush the ashes out of her fur. Her ears dropped, as with each brush more fur just got stuck in her claws.

Wearing the Twopleg pouches on her side, embroiled with the same symbol Littlestar's collar had on it, the black and white medicine cat walked up to her leader. She tried to nuzzle her, but Littlestar pulled away when she saw the red wraps underneath the pouches.

"Fleetheart," she said. "About… about what I did to you—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Fleetheart interrupted. "You were stressed, and you dealt with it, and it's over. So please. I just want to be your friend."

 _But you were also under pressure,_ Littlestar thought, _and you didn't lash out and try to kill me._

"Is everyone gone?" she asked.

Fleetheart nodded her head. "They left quickly. The last of the medicine is with me… I'm ready to go when you are."

Littlestar turned away and limped towards the hole in the wall.

With no breeze, she could barely see the many pawprints left in the ash by her clanmates, all of them moving in the same direction. One set moved off in another direction. Her tail twitched uncomfortably as she thought about it.

 _You didn't have to die, Whitestar. Nor did Longstar, or Panzer, or Wolfstar… it all happened because of me. But no more._

She squinted to her left as a figure dashed through the rubble across the thunderpath border. It was exactly what she thought it was.

Several wildcats walked across the path. Some were covered in thick fur; others had lost most of theirs like the rouges. But all of them were dirty. All of them looked like the thin, frail cats that she saw rampaging towards the camp in the last attack. They still moved with anger beaming from their eyes, the dried blood of her clanmates spotted throughout their pelts.

The cats finished assembling, more than double the cats she had sent away from camp. Fleetheart walked over to the ledge, her ears perked and her nose cringed.

"I can smell the blood of our clanmates from here," she said, eyes growing wider. Some began to sniff and paw at the prints left in the clearing.

 _There are more cats here than the whole clan! And this isn't even a quarter of their clan… calm down, Littlescent. You knew this would happen at some point._

Then the wildcats began to howl and snarl in her clanmate's direction. One of them caught sight of her through the hole, and they cautiously approached the camp, the defense of thundersticks still left in position.

"They'd never see it coming," Fleetheart said, "if they left to go attack them now. The fires over there are the thickest. Their ears and noses are useless to them!"

Littlestar rested her paw on Fleetheart's shoulders to keep her from shaking.

"Trust me on this. I saw this coming, and I know how to resolve it."

Littlestar walked as fast as she could down the hall and towards the steps to the ground floor. Fleetheart followed, looking into each den as she walked.

 _How I would love to just stay up there and talk to you,_ Littlestar thought as she passed the steps leading to the roof. _There's so much I want to tell you. So much I could only tell you if we were all alone with no one to disturb us. Nowhere for us to go… I would enjoy that._

Littlestar limped down the steps. As she descended, she could hear the angry screams of the wildcats outside. They hollered insults at her and slammed onto the walls. But as she reached the bottom of the steps and was limping towards the closed entrance, the hollers stopped and the walls fell silent.

 _Horseleaf must be out there… how I would have liked to talk to him as well._

Fleetheart moved ahead of her, reaching up and opening the entrance. Several slender, tall wildcats growled and hissed at her as she left the den. None approached her; they even parted to let her get to the center of the clearing. Horseleaf was standing in the middle of the thunderpath.

Littlestar took a deep breath and began moving slowly towards him. He stood unmoved by her advances, and unmoved by the silence the others witnessed in the camp. His bright, hazel eyes were tired, low. But they still intimidated her all the same. She knew exactly what he was going to say.

The three cats looked over each other. Fleeheart stood further away, but still close enough to hear. Before they spoke, the wildcat leader looked over Littlestar's head and towards the other wildcats, who were moving closer to the camp.

"Stay away from it," he shouted. The others immediately backed away. "We do not know what in there. Follow me… surround them, but give distance."

A large cat stepped forward of the group. His eyes were large and his bones could be counted through his wispy pelt.

"Tracks, from clan cats," he said. "We must chase!"

"You will follow," Horseleaf responded. "Take two with you. You will not attack, only follow. Then report back when you know where they going."

He growled, but nodded his head. He and two other cats took off after the trail of pawprints.

Horseleaf turned his attention back towards the two remaining clan cats, towering over them.

"We go now, Littlestar," he said calmly.

The sky was blocked by the thick smoke, but the dim glow of the sun still covered everything. Each step the cats took left prints in the thunderpath, completely covered in ashes and debris. Structures burned all around them, crumbling and dying.

Six of them surrounded Littlestar and Fleetheart, all of them glancing on and off at the two. Horseleaf kept with Littlestar as she limped through the entrance of the LeafClan camp.

The two looked on into the massive clearing. There were cats lounging everywhere. Some of them were sleeping. But there were many laid along the snake-monster path that ran through the camp. None of them were moving. Fleetheart curled her nose at their wide-reaching stench of death.

Littlestar looked towards the massive tunnel that she was held prisoner under. It was no longer guarded. All the plants around the area had been harvested or died.

Near the medicine den, one of the only standing Twoleg structures left surrounding the camp, an all-white she-cat was lounging. She was wrapped in the same fake-fur that Fleetheart used to treat wounds. As she spotted the party returning, she immediately jumped up and limped towards the clearing.

Horseleaf dashed away from the two and towards the long, flat part of the snake-monster that lay abandoned on the special path, right next to the row of dead cats.

"Behold, LeafClan," he shouted. "AchseClan, was StoneClan, has surrendered, their leader captured… victory!"

Some of the wildcats began hollering. Others stayed put, too weak to rejoice. Most of the cats nodded their heads instead, refusing to stand. A path was cleared between the rocky paths the cats were lounging on. The all-white medicine cat was limping towards the group with the help of a large brown and orange tom.

 _It's them_.

Littlestar's tail twitched as she resisted the urge to growl at the approaching wildcats.

 _The two that helped him start most of this. And there he is… all three of them are right here. Right in front of me. And there's nothing I can do._

Flyfoot stubbornly shoved Pineheart away from her, staggering towards Littlestar. Her ribs were beginning to show, but she was not focused on that.

Her eyes were dark red, one of them still filled with blood. Her nose was almost gone, replaced by a blob of pink flesh. Her paws were wrapped in Twoleg fake-fur just like her belly. Her tail had been torn off halfway, leaving a fluffy stump far shorter than her long body needed. Her once magnificent white fur was now covered in dirt, soot, and blood. She bore her fangs, one missing.

"You!" Flyfoot wasted no time; her paw smacked Littlestar across the face the second she had a chance. The leader fell to the ground, mouth bleeding. Before she could help, Fleetheart was held back by Pineheart, his massive paw forcing her to the ground.

Flyfoot smashed her paw into Littlestar's chest. Bile fell from the sides of her mouth as she struggled to recover from the first hit.

"Littlestar!" Fleetheart struggled under the LeafClan deputy's paw, but it was no use.

"You helped them do this to me!" Flyfoot screamed again. She raised her paw above the smaller cat's face. "You tried killing me. Mouse-hearted failure! You would watch while they kill instead!"

Horseleaf stayed his medicine cat's paw before it could crush Littlestar's face into the mud.

She was struggling to breathe again. The air was only slightly cooler than the air around camp. Her injuries began to sting as the mud seeped into the open crevices of her skin. The white dots clouded her vision, and she felt her body drain of energy.

Shutting her eyes, Littlestar tried to push memories of her capture from her mind. She thought about how they beat her until she saw the white dots the last time she was in their camp, how much pain she was in. She struggled trying to stand against the pull of the mud below.

Flyfoot's claws still dug deep into Littlestar's forehead. She stopped struggling as she felt the presence of the massive LeafClan leader towering over her.

"Any last thoughts, words?" he asked. "I give you that at least."

"That's it?!" Fleetheart shouted, pulling against the weight of Pineheart's grapple. "You can't just kill her now! Not like this."

"She is cause of all our troubles," Horseleaf said. "She must die, and our clan will know true safety."

 _So this is it,_ Littlestar thought. _This is really how I'm going to meet StarClan… StarClan. I'll finally get to see them. I'll see Bonbon and Longstar. They'll know why… why they refused to talk to us. Why they didn't talk to me all throughout my life, or anyone._

 _And there I can finally be away from all of this killing. This death. My pain is overwhelming; this body is a weight… I can't wait to…_

 _No…_

Flyfoot leaned behind her paw to strike a killing blow to her neck.

Littlestar's eyes shot wide open. She lunged against the white medicine cat and sent her on her back into the mud. Both scrambled to their feet, Horsepelt leaping in front of Flyfoot before she could charge.

"She's mine!" Flyfoot screamed.

"Fighting might kill you," he said. "We need you alive. Too important to us."

The medicine cat let out a low hiss before backing out of the mud.

A large crowd of wildcats gathered around the puddle. Each of them was hollering and cheering, keeping their distance from the arena they formed around the two cats. Fleetheart tried charging from Pineheart's grasp once more, but was held back.

"Littlestar! Horsepelt, please don't do this… kill me instead! Please just let her go."

"No," Horsepelt responded. "Littlestar led to wildcat deaths, not you. You stay there and watch your leader die. Might let you go after."

 _Littlescent… stay down. You're too injured to fight. Just move over to Pineheart, cut him across the nose, and clear a path for Fleetheart. She deserves to live more than you, anyway. She still has others to live for. And you're about to die._

The two leaders continued to circle each other.

 _But he makes me… so angry. So angry, that he wouldn't even give peace a chance. When things got hard, he took the easy route that led to so many deaths… I've led cats to StarClan as well. But I will_ not _enter Silverpelt unless I drag him with me, before our leaders. Where we will live in infamy together, away from any other living cat!_

"You still have energy," Horsepelt said, focusing his bright, hazel eyes on Littlestar's legs. "I brought you here. You looked like you did when you were captive. Weak, tired, dying."

"What in the name of StarClan is wrong with you?" Littlestar said, her legs shaking under her own weight. "You couldn't just give peace a chance. You _had_ to try and take down our clan. You _had_ to risk the lives of everyone. You _had_ to abandon the Stars as your guide… they wouldn't have wanted this."

"Those Stars told Mousetail long ago that other clans needed to die! I not trust them anymore, but some comrades still do. Wolfstar still did. To honor his memory, I carry out his final decision, which was what clan wanted. And that ends with your death."

"Liar!" she said, trembling under her own weight. "There was another way—"

"Look around!" he shouted. "No nests. No Twolegs. Only fire-fallers and heavy-rollers, ash and smoke. No sun, no moon, no stars. There was never enough for both of us. And after all this, there never will be again. My clan or yours. That how Wolfstar saw it, that how Eaglestar saw it, and how I see it."

Littlestar was trembling too hard to speak again, her jaw clenched tight with fangs visible.

Horseleaf scraped his paw against the mud below him, bearing his fangs. "Peace from your death. Goodbye, Littlestar."

The large tom lunged towards her. Littlestar sidestepped and swiped at Horseleaf. Nothing. He turned and screeched into her face.

Littlestar's ears screaked back, and she lost balance. He struck her with his paw, and she tumbled back into the mud.

The wildcats around her continued to holler insults at the injured leader, cheering on their own. Fleetheart could not peel her eyes from the fight. She watched Littlestar take several hits while down.

"Death is your greatest motivation," Horsepelt said. "How strong will it make you?"

Littlestar screamed into the air, leaping from the mud and onto Horsepelt. The massive tom tried to shake her off. She dug her claws deeper into his back, clawing her way up towards his neck.

He leaped into the air with a twist, landing on his back. Littlestar was crushed under his weight briefly before he scrambled to his paws. Littlestar was down again, gasping for air.

Every part of her was covered in mud, small pools of blood dotting the puddle. She wiped the rest from her face and struggled to her feet. Fleetheart tore from Pineheart's grasp, sprinting towards her. She moved to slip open the left pouch.

"Littlestar, let me—"

Her whole body shaking, she stared straight up into the sky and let out a hiss.

The cats around them grew silent. Even Flyfoot no longer jeered her leader's opponent. They all watched her stare straight up into the black clouded skies and scream as loud as she could.

Fleetheart stood, as she had been told to do. She observed her leader's body. All her scratches were covered in a thin layer of mud that stuck to her fur. The bald patches on her were mixed red and brown, with no skin to be seen. Her legs twisted underneath her own weight. Her entire mouth was coated in blood. And her eyes appeared pitch black.

She could no longer see the green in them. She saw two large, black eyes staring at the sky. As if they were screaming with her, they peeled open as wide as they could. Looking into them was hard for her.

It was as if she stared into pure agony. The black eyes, the red mouth, the dirty face, all were painful for Fleetheart to witness.

She stumbled, trying to keep her place. But her chest felt heavy. Just watching her friend tormenting herself, her pain manifesting itself into that one terrible pose was enough to make her sick.

"Not like this," she whispered.

The leader charged towards Horseleaf. Bracing himself was not enough. Both cats tumbled into the mud, but he was faster. Scrambling to his feet, he pinned Littlestar's head into the mud.

His head was too high for her hind legs to reach. She thrust her legs in all directions, scraping the dirt below the mud, trying to gain footing. The collar around her neck jingled as she thrashed her head as much as she could.

Horseleaf did not let up. Littlestar coughed for air before being thrust back under. Her forepaws were pinned near her head, no longer willing to lift the weight of her small body. Her long tail struck him several times until it fell limp into the mud.

Her hind paws fought less and less, her body sank deeper. He did not let up. Only when she stopped moving did he dare let her lift her head.

Littlestar slowly rose from the mud and turned towards her opponent. Her eyes were narrowed of exhaustion rather than anger. Her vision had blurred, the energy sapped from her body.

But she continued. She slowly walked towards Horseleaf, a gash on her head open and bleeding into the mud, dripping past her red-soaked collar. She nearly fell on the slick mixture several times before reaching him.

Even Horsepelt backed himself away from the she-cat. She lifted her head as high as she could and stared into his hazel eyes. They were wide, and hers were low. Just as Fleetheart had seen it, the green had left them. He stared into two shining, black dots; the life had long drained from them. He was unable to draw away, despite how much his eyes shook. It went on for several moments before Littlestar slipped on the mud again.

She continued towards him, he stepped out of the way. Littlestar made one last, weak lash at his face. Her tail smacked into it. He did not even stagger. He just watched her brush right past him, struggling towards Fleetheart.

Halfway, the cat's legs began to squirm. Fleetheart closed the distance in time to watch her limp body fall into the mud. She rolled her nose at the smell she gave off. The smell of a strong, bitter liquid stung at her eyes, entered her mouth and clouded her taste.

All her senses soon caught onto it. Even as she held Littlestar's head away from the mud she could feel warm blood trickle through the grooves of her fur.

She held her leader's head above the mud, her own briefly to Littlestar's chest. The breathing was erratic, out of place. She lifted her head to more dirt and blood coating the right side of her face.

Littlestar's pitch black eyes stared straight ahead. Her whole body reeked. Her mouth hanging open, she did not move. She could not move. Even her tail no longer twitched in pain or anger.

"Littlestar," Fleetheart whispered. "Littlestar, please… don't…"

"Wasn't… enough," Littlestar said in a low and muddled voice. "You were… right. My decisions… my fault… it was always… my fault."

"Don't say that," Fleetheart said. "You're a wonderful cat. We need you to guide us. Please… please not here."

Littlestar's whole muzzle was quickly stained red as she tried to turn towards Fleetheart's face.

"No, Littlestar!"

Her chest no longer moved, the jaws in her muzzle still twitching up and down. Her pitch-black eyes stayed wide open, staring towards the path of the snake-monster, her final warning.

Fleetheart leaned her muzzle into the smaller she-cat's limp body. It was warm. Much warmer than it should have been. Her head was almost uncomfortably so against the heat in the air. But Fleetheart did not move, her head resting on the back of Littlestar's neck.

The wildcats were silent. None of them were cheering or hollering. Even Flyfoot had ceased her growling and just stared at them.

Just then, the skies grew calmer. The ashes and soot still loomed low overhead, but the structures that spewed heat from flames seemed to dull. The wind picked up, a calm and pleasant breeze of warm air.

As Fleetheart held the limp body in her embrace, the sun seemed to get a little brighter. Just bright enough to see in the dark caverns of the snake-monster bridge once more.

Horseleaf closed in on the pair of she-cats, staring at Fleetheart.

"Get away from us!" Fleetheart screamed, hissing at the wildcat leader.

"She's dead," Horseleaf said back. "Mousetail and Wolfstar will rest easy knowing this."

"Shut up. Just shut your mouth! You didn't have to kill her."

Horsepelt nodded his head. "You right, little stone cat. I didn't have to kill her… had things been different, no one would die in battle. There would be no battle. Only arguments and then peace. But in this place, there will never be peace. Even with no clans but LeafClan, there will be no peace."

Fleetheart returned her muzzle to Littlestar's body, shutting her eyes tightly.

"She taught me something," Horsepelt moved closer to the body, just tail's length away from it. "She taught me about StarClan. It was her zeal that made me lose faith. Her devotion to Star's message of peace that made me lose faith.

"But her faith that made me afraid. Afraid what happens to cats who lose it. Especially leader of clan like me. Wrath, death… for a while I believed my comrades' deaths were my punishment.

"But I had hope. Hope if she died, there would be peace, just as Mousetail said long before I was born. Hope that my clanmates could be safe on her death… now I know they will not be… I thank you, Littlestar. For giving my respect back for the Stars. They are no longer mine, but they are the rest of my clans."

Fleetheart dragged her leader from the mud and onto the stones of the nearby path. She carefully unpinned the notches in her collar, the jingling sound no longer present on the trinket. Unwrapping it from her neck revealed the bloodied wraps below it. They were completely soaked red.

She slowly cut those off with her claws, exposing the dying flesh below. It was furless, black, appearing as a deep red ring around her entire neck.

"Littlestar," she whispered. "Why did you have to go like this?"

She did the same to the wraps around the rest of her body. No part of her fur was without blood or dirt. It made Fleetherat gag, knowing her friend went through far worse than she could have imagined.

Tossing the bloody wraps aside, she looked into Littlestar's deep, black eyes once more. They held the same agony that they had come with. Each heartbeat she looked into them, she felt pain creep throughout her chest. It felt as if it was on fire, each and every heartbeat growing worse.

When she could bear no more, she closed the she-cat's eyes and mouth. Even with her stiff muscles, Fleetheart noticed Littlestar's body looked calmer. Just a little bit more at ease. She thought of the night they slept in each other's embrace. Everything was peaceful. Nothing around them could disturb their tranquility.

Fleetheart thought about her own wraps, but pushed it from her mind as the presence of the massive LeafClan leader towered over her.

"I not turn her over to my comrades," he said, "One condition. You help Flyfoot heal all injured cats. Teach her how to use wraps. Leave everything. Keep dangerous water-medicine. Then you leave with her body. You understand?"

Fleetheart, not even glancing towards the wildcats or Horsepelt, nodded her head.

" _No one_ will disturb her," Fleetheart said firmly.

"I guard her myself," he responded. "I have nothing more to say to either of you."

He sat by the body. Fleetheart looked at him, squinting at him. She forced herself away from her thoughts and slowly walked towards Flyfoot. The wildcats parted to let them through.

Flyfoot limped towards the massive clearing under the Twoleg bridge. The scent of dirt and fire quickly returned.

"I hate you," Flyfoot said. "I hate your clan. But I love my clanmates more than I hate you. You finish fast, and get out."

Fleetheart did not respond. She only kept padding towards the clearing, prying open the pouch on her right.

Horseleaf looked towards the sky, and then back to his clanmates. Pineheart moved up to him.

"Orders?" he said.

"Gather group… take their camp. Hunt their territories," he responded. "It's empty. We move injured cats there. Less smoke, more openings… and get rid of those Twoleg fire-spitters. I join you shortly, after I take Fleetheart off our territory."

Pineheart nodded, breaking away from his leader. One glance from his dark, green eyes was enough to disperse the wildcat group. Horsepelt was alone with Littlestar's body. He rested his paw on her chest, eying the collar. He brushed the mud off the trinket, revealing the Twoleg symbol below etched in the tough material.

He nodded his head.

"If nothing else, your will was bright. Would even make Wolfstar proud."

The wind had picked up in the sweeping fields. Low, dead grass opened the view to the Twolegplace off in the distance. The sky was more exposed than inside, the clouds of smoke where they should be instead of a tree's length in the sky. It was impossible to see anything in the darkness. But it did not stop the siren's wail in the distance.

Fleetheart was able to see them. She looked up at the sky and saw the monsters that had brought so much destruction. Several two-nosed ones sailed through, diving down, throwing lightning at the structures below. They did not even try to aim. They just kept up their attacks, diving, climbing, and diving, like feasting vultures.

She covered Littlestar's face after taking one last look at it. The heavy, crusted dirt flowed into the hole she had dug. She stamped it flat before looking at the rock in front of it.

It was split, exposing a smooth, green inside that still glowed amid the darkness. Outside, the rock was far duller, covered in black spots and scratches from the ash storms that ravaged the field to death. The rock was stiff, dug deep into the ground.

Fleetheart moved and put her forehead to the smooth surface. She closed her eyes and took in deep breaths, fresher than the ones in the structures riddled with ashes.

"It was too late for you, Littlestar," she said. "And that was my fault. I should have listened to your body, seen the signs. You were way too hot. Your body could not stand your actions. It's a medicine cat's duty to treat the injured. No matter how resilient they may be. No matter how much they resist it. And I failed you. And I apologize.

"But no number of apologies can make up for this… I don't want to ask for your forgiveness here. I want to beg at your paws for it when I join you in StarClan… but I hope you forgive me. Because when I get to StarClan, and see you again, I want to sit next to you and listen. Listen to your thoughts, your feelings, about everything that happened during this dark time. I want to listen to you, like I failed to while you were alive."

She clenched her forepaw, running deep claw marks from the top of the rock to the ground. She then did her best to carve the Twoleg symbol into the smooth surface, next to her larger claw marks.

"They gave you strength. Those _Achse_ Twolegs. They kept you going, because they did not quit. They fought until they were all destroyed. But we will not share their fate, thanks to you. In your last bit of strength, of kindness, you set our clan free from certain defeat. We lose, but we lose with our lives.

"And then I saw it. When I stared into your black eyes, I knew I was too late. Whatever sickness you had, however hot your body was, it would stand no more. I knew you would die after seeing you like that… but I could not stand how horrific you were when you did that. You were in agony, Littlestar. That was the very same agony I did not listen to. You frightened me before I realized how badly I had done by you.

"But when I get to StarClan, we can speak of it. We can put it past us. I will no longer call you 'star'. I will call you Littlescent once more, just as you wanted… had I not thrust leadership onto you, you might not have suffered so much this quarter moon. But you are at peace now.

"All I ask is that you watch me from your place in Silverpelt. I will ensure that you are never forgotten. And I will do right by the rest of the clan, and by every cat I meet on my journey deeper into the Twoleg's territory.

"I'm scared to leave this place, Littlestar. I have never left. Only Panzer, Blueclaw, and Bonbon had ever seen what lies beyond _Hamburg_. But I'm excited. As long as I have you, even if I die, I will not forget my new purpose.

"I never thought I would take on the sacred role of wanderer. Just as Longstar and Panzer told every cat, I must spread the word of StarClan, and our story, to every other clan I find. I think I will make a good wanderer. Because as long as I live no one will ever forget this moon of darkness."

She leaned in and nuzzled the ashes beneath her paws.

"I love you, Littlestar. Even in death, I love you. May your walk to Silverpelt be pleasant; far away from those Twoleg ruins you spent half your life in… I have to go now. There will be another snake-monster in the morning. And others have stayed.

"Don't worry, they are safe. They were just worried about us. But now I have to tell them about you. We will leave quickly. We will find our clanmates. And we will all be wanderers, together.

"Littlestar, you were the greatest cat I have ever had the pleasure to know… I love you. And I'll make sure to stay strong, for you."

Fleetheart quickly darted around the rock, stopping to take one last look at it. She shifted around the collar in her empty Twoleg pouch, moving the last of her supplies around to balance them.

In the distance, three large wildcats were waiting for her next to the empty path of the snake-monster. She knew Horsepelt would only want to see her safely to the place the monsters rested before departing.

Reluctantly, she left her friend's grave alone in the empty fields. But her chest felt calm and strong, even as the putrid wind began to pick up the ashes of the field and whirl them over her head.

She looked up at the sky, and the pain in her chest melted away.


	39. Epilouge

The dark clouds were low around the snake-monster's resting area. It contributed black smoke to them, feeding them from a large hole near the front. The Twoleg symbol, red, white, and black, clear and new adorned the all-black monster. It began to hiss, and a loud whistling sound blew from the top of it.

Fleetheart leaped inside one of the boxes it dragged behind it before it lurched into motion. It let out another whistling cry. A few Twoleg warriors scrambled onto it as it picked up speed.

But the group of cats was alone in their massive box, surrounded only by the supplies the Twolegs had been loading onto it all night. The area around them was cool, thanks to the supplies. Fleetheart opened her mouth wide and took a deep breath, scenting the cleaner air inside the monster's containers.

Each was marked with the traditional Twoleg symbol. More glyphs adorned them, but Fleetheart did not bother with them. She was busy looking outside the massive wood entrance, left open by the Twolegs, watching the black-coated Twolegplace grow more distant.

She held her nose as they passed the river that the rouges had warned about, so toxic that a cat could die just touching its waters. The water's stench quickly faded, however, as the snake-monster finished dragging them over the bridge and officially out of the limits of the Twolegplace.

They moved through closely packed structures, hollowed out by the lighting of the sky-monsters. Their charred remains stood a reminder of the _Achse's_ defeat. A testament to their war effort. Just as Fleetheart felt about the collar in her medicine pouch.

She opened the pouch and dropped the collar to the wood floor. Staring at it for a little while, she slung the collar around her neck and turned back to the group of several cats behind her.

"Can one of you help me with this?"

"You can't be serious about that, right?" A stout, grey tom leaped from his resting place on one of the supply containers, sitting next to the rest of the group. Flaum stretched his hind legs as far as he could. "I thought the point of being clan cats was to _avoid_ wearing things like that."

Fleetheart nodded her head, as several more cats gathered around her.

"I know, I know. But I can't be traveling into the unknown like this." She pointed at the fresh, white wraps around her neck that they had found before they left. "The wraps could get dirty or slide out of place when I'm running around… also…"

"I understand," he said reluctantly, and returned to his stretches. "If anything else, the scent will keep other cats away."

"I'll help you," said a grey and brown-spotted cat. Her paw also had fresh bandages around it, and, for the first time since she had arrived, her fur was clean and groomed.

"Thanks, Christa," Fleetheart responded.

Both cats looked uneasily at the blood-stained collar. The entire inside of it was red and brown, and still reeked of blood. The color had long faded, mulled over by the smoky winds and dried fluids. The trinket was freshly cleaned though, the Twoleg symbol more prominent than ever, jingling with the steady rocking of the snake-monster.

She snapped each notch in the collar where it needed to be, and it was quickly secured around Fleetheart's neck. She scratched at it immediately.

"The inside," she said, vigorously scratching with her forepaw, "is all torn up and stiff. It'll take a while to get used to."

"I don't think it suits you," a tall, black cat said. Karl strode past Flaum, who was still stretching, and sat near the opening. "It's like the one I used to wear. Except the trinket in the center was bigger. But all that blood just doesn't look right on you."

"I think she looks a lot younger when she has it on," said a light voice, fresh wraps covering a missing left ear. Shortfang was resting near another tom, larger and older. "It reminds me of Wolfgang's collar."

"I hated that thing," Wolfgang responded. "It was smooth and it kept falling off. So my Twolegs made it tighter… didn't solve the problem."

"But it was the best looking one," Shortfang responded, nuzzling under his chin. "Did you take it with you?"

"Not a chance in the Dark Forest would I take that thing with me," he responded. "The wildcats are probably tearing it to pieces right now, if they've gotten to the stuff in the second-floor dens."

His voice trailed off with the last part of his speech. The rest of the cats fell silent upon remembering their fallen camp, and clan. Each of them thought about their lives within, never to return to them.

Flaum, finished with his stretches, broke the silence. "So… who's in charge of us now?"

"You two are the oldest, right?" Christa said, looking towards Karl and Flaum.

"You don't have to be the oldest to be in charge in clans," Shortfang said back. "Fleetheart's a medicine cat. So she ranks higher than all of us warriors."

"Yeah," Karl said, "I thought as much… have you decided where we're going?"

Fleetheart, turning towards the rest of the group, shook her fur before speaking. "Panzer used to live in a Twolegplace they called _Berlin_. It's much bigger than _Hamburg_ , and she learned much of her Twoleg words there. Hopefully their war hasn't reached that place."

"I swear, you're the only one who uses those names for Twolegplaces," Wolfgang said.

"Your name _is_ Twoleg-speak," Shortfang said. "I'm surprised you didn't pick any up from your owners."

"That reminds me," Flaum said, moving closer to the resting cats, "why didn't you take on a clan name? I thought clan cats hated the names of pets?"

Wolfgang rested his head on Shortfang's paw. "I have my reasons. But that's a story for another night. Right now, I just want to lounge in the first bit of cold I've been near in moons."

Flaum sighed, deciding to drop the matter. "Yes, I suppose we could all use some rest. We did wait up all night, and we hardly slept before we initially left camp."

Fleetheart looked out the opening of the box once more. The charred remains of trees were moving past her. But the land was no longer completely burned away. The snake-monster was beginning to exit the limits of the sky-monster attacks.

Across the fields of dead grass, she saw several Tigers. Only one was rolling and appeared undamaged. It was dragging one of the dead ones towards the Twolegplace. The massive thunderstick was aimed forward, and a Twoleg had its head out of the top.

Across the side, it adorned the symbol she had known her whole life, and now wore around her neck. It was the first Twoleg she had seen since the night of the massive attack. She could not tell its condition over the bouncing of the snake-monster, and she looked away from the Tigers.

"Hey," she said loudly as she backed away from the opening.

"Yes?" Shortfang asked.

"Thank you all… you know, for waiting for me. It really means a lot to me. I don't know if I could've made it on my own."

"We weren't just about to leave you and Littlestar behind," Shortfang said. "The whole clan wanted to stay and wait, but Blueclaw and Heavyclaw wouldn't let them."

Fleetheart, a few tail-lengths away from the opening, sat and rested. She moved the pouches on her sides lower down her back and off her shoulders.

"Panzer told me all the snake-monsters used by the Twoleg warriors eventually go to the same place. I believe her; we will see our clanmates again."

"That's good to know," Shortfang said, nuzzling closer to Wolfgang and quickly falling asleep.

Karl and Flaum, a good distance from each other, were also asleep. Christa had leaped onto one of the supply containers and fallen asleep, her wrapped paw and tail hanging over the side.

Fleetheart decided to take one last look at the fields, the life seeming to return to them the further they moved from their old home. She rested her head on her paws, careful of the wraps on her body, and closed her eyes.

 _I have missed so much,_ she thought, _So much of our clanmate's lives. How is it that only three pets survived? And when did Wolfgang and Shortfang get so close? That I_ really _want to know… but for now, sleep._

 _Littlestar, I'll never be back to this place. But I can sleep easy knowing you will be walking to StarClan in a clear, open field instead of that desolate ruin we lived in. Not that I hated it. Not with you there…_

Sudden warmth hit Fleetheart's muzzle. It was much warmer than the contents of the supplies they were around. Her eyes shot open, and the warmth spread to her chest in a pleasant way.

She gazed up at the sky. For the first time in a quarter-moon, sunlight had warmed her pelt instead of ashes. It was brilliant, the bright, orange morning light hovering over the black smoke clouds. She realized the clouds went up far. They could easily be mistaken for storm clouds, had they been lighter. She knew they were much worse.

 _Those in Hamburg would have never seen this. It's go good to see the sun again. To feel it's warmth on my fur instead of the heat of fires and soot. To rest under the—"_

The blare of the air attack sirens cut into her thoughts. But they were quieter, as they were quite far from their old home, only able to make out the structures in the distance along the close river, which was no longer a pool of vile sludge. It had overflowed its banks.

There were only a few sirens out in the fields, but enough to alert the Twolegs she saw in them to run for the closest nests. Some ran towards massive thundersticks that towered over the plants. She knew they would begin counterattacking on sight of the sky-monsters.

 _Eventually you'll get to see the sun, Littlestar,_ she thought as she closed her eyes. _It'll be bright and warm and everything you need… no, you're probably enjoying it right now, up in StarClan. I bet you can even get a good look at those sky-monsters, since they're up so high._

 _I hope you tell me about them. I want to listen. Just like I want to listen to my clanmates, I especially want to listen to you. I hope you speak to me. Break the silence I've had from StarClan all my life. Or at least visit me in my dreams._

 _The thought of you watching over me is enough to lead these cats though anything. Even if I have to lead them through the Place of No Stars itself, it would not matter if I knew you were up there, watching me._

Fleetheart felt her mind drift away from her as she began falling asleep.

 _We will meet again, Littlestar… once my work is done, we will be together again._

She fell asleep, her head resting gracefully on the hard wood floor.

In the distance, sirens still wailed, the deep blasts of thundersticks still tore through the black sky, and the monsters began dropping their deadly lightning strikes. But for her that fight was over.


	40. Alligances (SPOILERS)

AchseClan †(formerly StoneClan)

 **Leader** **:** Littlestar † - _small tortoiseshell she-cat with a long, brown-tipped tail and no scent._

Longstar † - _grey and black tabby tom with a short muzzle._

 **Deputy** **:** Heavyclaw - _large, bulky grey-brown tom with a short tail and fur._

 **Medicine Cat** **:** Panzer † - _former kittypet; old Russian Blue she-cat who hails from a distant land. Blueclaw's littermate._

Fleetheart - _beautiful light grey and white mask-and-mantle she-cat with a long tail._

 **Warriors** **:** Wolfgang - _former kittypet; grey and black tabby tom._

Shortfang - _small, very young brown she-cat with short legs._

 **Apprentices** **:** Cloudpaw † - _very young brown and white tom._

LeafClan (European wildcats)

 **Leader** **:** Wolfstar † - _old brown wildcat tom with many battle scars and poor vision._

Eaglestar † _\- brown and grey tom with a constant stern expression._

Horseleaf - _large brown-black mackerel wildcat tom who has renounced his faith in StarClan._

 **Deputy** **:** Pineheart - _large, heavy orange and brown wildcat tom._

 **Medicine Cat** **:** Mousetail † - _old white and grey wildcat she with a short, thin tail._

Flyfoot - _large, young white wildcat she who is very flexible._

 **Apprentices** **:** Molepaw - _very young brown tabby wildcat tom with large paws and a short tail._

BreezeClan † (combined with StoneClan)

 **Medicine Cat** **:** Yellowstar † - _large, golden-white she-cat who also served as clan leader. A strong zealot of StarClan._

Whitestar † - _black and white tom with a large black spot around his right eye._

 **Deputy** **:** Blueclaw - _former kittypet; Russian Blue she-cat who hails from a distant land. Panzer's littermate. Formerly the sub-leader of BreezeClan._

 **Warriors** **:** Christa - _former kittypet; beautiful brown tortoiseshell she-cat. Littlestar's littermate._

Flaum - _former kittypet; small grey tom with a wide, flat face._

Karl - _former kittypet; tall, black tom with a long face._

Rouges † (combined with StoneClan)

 **Leader** **:** Burn - _former kittypet; brown tom with bald patches over most of his body._

 **Others:** Reiz † - _small tortoiseshell she-cat._


End file.
